Rockland Records was an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

founded by R&B

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

in 1998, having distribution from Interscope Records. The label was home to recording artists such as Kelly himself,

Sparkle Sparkle may refer to: * Sparkle (catamaran), a catamaran designed by Angus Primrose * Sparkle (drink), a lemon-flavored soft drink * Sparkle, a brand of paper towels owned by Georgia-Pacific * Sparkle Plenty, a character in the ''Dick Tracy'' c ...

, Boo & Gotti among others. The label has released four albums

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The label is known for songs like " Fiesta (Remix)", "

Fortunate "Fortunate" is a neo soul song from the 1999 motion picture ''Life'' and was released on the film's soundtrack. The song was written, composed, produced and arranged by R. Kelly and recorded by Maxwell. "Fortunate" was awarded Best R&B Single o ...

", "

Be Careful BE or be may refer to: Linguistics * ''To be'', the English copular verb * Be (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet * ''be'' (interjection), in several languages * Be language or Ong Be, a language of northern Hainan province, China *Bla ...

" and " What Would You Do?". Rockland Records main producers are R. Kelly and

Trackmasters The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joi ...

. The label is currently inactive but Kelly still owns the Rockland Records imprint.

History

Kelly founded Rockland Records in 1998, in conjunction with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, shortly before releasing his fourth album ('' R.''). Rockland's artists included Sparkle, rappers Boo & Gotti, Talent, and Vegas Cats (the latter two groups never released an album) among others. The

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

to the 1999

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American comedian and actor. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playin ...

and Eddie Murphy movie ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' was released on the Rockland label, and Sparkle was the first artist to release an album on the label. Despite various conflicts between Sparkle and the label, her debut album performed well, going platinum. The album's most popular track was a duet between Kelly and Sparkle titled "Be Careful". The label's roster included artists Sparkle, Boo & Gotti, Talent, Vegas Cats, Lady, Frankie and Secret Weapon, and Rebecca F. On October 13, 1998, a posthumous single by

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

was released featuring label group mate "Talent", the song was

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...

and is now known as one of the greatest rap songs of all time. Talent later released their own single called "Celebrity" from their album "Bulls Eye", which was a minor hit, peaking at number 90 on the R&B/Hip Hop chart. In 1998, the label's first artist, Sparkle released her debut self-titled album, ''

''. In addition to producing and writing the project, Kelly made vocal contribution to the hit duet "Be Careful," which contributed largely to the album's success. The album was certified platinum in December 2000. In 1999, Kelly wrote and produced the

to the

and Eddie Murphy movie ''

'', which features tracks from

K-Ci & JoJo K-Ci & JoJo is an American R&B duo, consisting of brothers Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey (born September 2, 1969) and Joel "JoJo" Hailey (born June 10, 1971). Natives of Monroe, North Carolina, they are also the lead singers of the chart-topping R&B ...

, Maxwell,

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

, and Destiny's Child. The soundtrack was released on the Rockland label. Rockland artists Sparkle, Talent, and Vegas Cats all appeared on the ''

'' soundtrack. Sparkle was dropped from the label for refusing to show up to work unless her boyfriend, Steve Huff, was allowed to work on her next project. In addition, she was released several times for insubordination. Later, Sparkle was released for good and she went to Motown to record the album Told You So. The album's only minor hit was "It's A Fact" which reached #62 on the R&B charts. Sparkle tried to team up with Kelly once more but was unable, due to past issues. After Kelly refused to work with Sparkle, she claimed her niece was in a sex tape having sex with R. Kelly, which Kelly, the girl, and her parents all denied. Boo & Gotti and Vegas Cats appeared on R. Kelly's albums, '' R.'' and '' TP-2.com'', as well as a freestyle from Boo & Gotti on ''The Fast and the Furious'' soundtrack, making several references to Rockland. Production duo

(also known as Poke & Tone) were a part of the label at that time, producing many of the songs from Rockland Records. In 2001, R. Kelly shelved the label and focused on producing and writing songs for other artists. The label is currently inactive but Kelly still owns the Rockland Records imprint, the last time an album was released from the label was in 2004, with the second Jay-Z & R. Kelly collaboration album, Unfinished Business.

Artists

Former acts

Discography

References

{{Authority control R. Kelly Record labels established in 1998 American record labels Music production companies Defunct record labels of the United States Vanity record labels Contemporary R&B record labels Interscope Records

History

Artists

Former acts

Discography

See also

References