Rockland Records
Encyclopedia
Rockland Records was a vanity label
conceived by R. Kelly
. Having distribution from Interscope Records
, Rockland's artists included Sparkle
, rappers Boo & Gotti
, Talent, and Vegas Cats (the latter two groups never released an album) among others. The soundtrack
to the 1999 Martin Lawrence
and Eddie Murphy
movie Life
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 gold. The album's most popular track was a duet between Kelly and Sparkle titled "Be Careful".
The conflicts between Sparkle and her label were many. First, 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 insubordinance.
Finally, Sparkle was released for good and she went to Motown. 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.
After dealing with the disloyal, ungrateful artists he tried to help out, R. Kelly shelved the label and focused on producing and writing songs. Boo & Gotti and Vegas Cats appeared on the R. Kelly 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. Sparkle, Talent, and Vegas Cats all appeared on the Life soundtrack. Boo & Gotti would go to Cash Money Records
.
Vanity label
A vanity label is an informal name given sometimes to a record label founded as a wholly or partially owned subsidiary of another, larger and better established record label, where the subsidiary label is controlled by a successful recording artist, designed to allow this artist...
conceived by R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
. Having distribution from Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
, Rockland's artists included Sparkle
Sparkle (singer)
Stephanie Edwards , better known as Sparkle is an American R&B singer. She began her career in 1998 as a protégé of R. Kelly.-Career:...
, rappers Boo & Gotti
Boo & Gotti
Boo & Gotti were an American hip-hop duo composed of Sabrian "Boo" Sledge and Mwata "Gotti Mitchell.They are perhaps best known for appearing on the 2001 hit, "Fiesta" with R. Kelly and Jay-Z. The single peaked 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent five consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard...
, Talent, and Vegas Cats (the latter two groups never released an album) among others. The soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the 1999 Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence
Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and stand up comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably the films Bad Boys, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House...
and Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
movie Life
Life (film)
Life is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by Ted Demme, and starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. The supporting cast includes Obba Babatundé, Bernie Mac, Anthony Anderson, Miguel A. Núñez Jr. and Bokeem Woodbine...
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 gold. The album's most popular track was a duet between Kelly and Sparkle titled "Be Careful".
The conflicts between Sparkle and her label were many. First, 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 insubordinance.
Finally, Sparkle was released for good and she went to Motown. 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.
After dealing with the disloyal, ungrateful artists he tried to help out, R. Kelly shelved the label and focused on producing and writing songs. Boo & Gotti and Vegas Cats appeared on the R. Kelly albums R.
R. (album)
-Commercial performance:R. debuted at #2 on the Billboard top 100 with 1st weeks sales of 741,000 coppies in the 1st week.in the second week the album fell to #3 with 567,000 coppies.the album was eventually rewarded a 8x plantium award with more than 8 million copies sold in the United States to...
and TP-2.com
TP-2.com
-Critical response:TP-2.com received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Sonicnet wrote, "TP-2.com isn't the masterpiece Kelly seems capable of, but it's as strong an R&B album as any since, well, since R., balancing the carnal and the spiritual as convincingly as anyone's done it since...
, as well as a freestyle
Freestyle rap
Freestyle rap commonly refers to rap lyrics which are improvised through a acapella or with instrumental beats, i.e. performed with no previously composed lyrics, or "off the top of the head"...
from Boo & Gotti on The Fast and the Furious soundtrack, making several references to Rockland. Sparkle, Talent, and Vegas Cats all appeared on the Life soundtrack. Boo & Gotti would go to Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records is a record label founded by brothers Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed by Universal Republic Records as of 2011...
.