Rock City (duo)

Early life and education

Theron and Timothy Thomas are natives of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. They grew up in the Oswald Harris Court Projects and graduated from Charlotte Amalie High School. As children, the brothers were backup dancers for a local all-girl rap group. They frequently practiced various genres of music and received support from their parents. In 2000, the two left the Virgin Islands to pursue their music career in Miami. They initially performed under the name 2Ekwip. They had limited success on the Miami nightlife scene. During this time, Theron worked for Kroger and Timothy for Party City. They moved back to St. Thomas in 2005.

Career beginnings and record deal (2006–09)

In 2006, the duo sold their first song, "The Rain," which appeared on American singer-songwriter Akon's triple platinum-selling album Konvicted. By October 2007, Rock City had written songs for acts like Usher, Sean Kingston, Ashlee Simpson, Nicole Scherzinger, and Mary J. Blige. Early songs that saw chart success included "Take You There" by Sean Kingston (number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100), "When I Grow Up" by The Pussycat Dolls (number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100), and "Replay" by Iyaz (number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100). Rock City signed a recording contract with Geffen Records and Akon's KonLive Distribution, in 2007. During this time, Theron was known by the stage name "Da Spokesman" and Timothy was known as "Don't Talk Much." They were set to release their debut album, Wake the Neighbors, some time in 2008,

Label issues and Planet VI era (2008–13)

Rock City amassed 15 self-released mixtapes between 2008 and 2012, and many of them contained the acronym "PTFAO" (or Put the F*ckin' Album Out) in reference to the fact that the label had not given them a release date for their album. In 2011, the duo parted ways with KonLive and founded their own label imprint called Rebelution Records. They intended to release their debut album, Free At Last, on their own label. but the release date was later pushed back to 2009. Despite the tumult with their record labels, Rock City continued writing songs for other artists during this period. They penned Rihanna's Man Down and Justin Bieber's "Run Away Love." In 2013, the duo wrote numerous Billboard Hot 100 songs, including Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop", Rihanna's "Pour It Up", and Ciara's "I'm Out." "Pour It Up" appeared on Rihanna's album, Unapologetic, which won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards. The following year, Rock City contributed to three separate albums that received Grammy nominations—Miley Cyrus' Bangerz, Ariana Grande's My Everything (both of which were nominated in the Best Pop Vocal Album category) and Iggy Azalea's The New Classic (which was nominated for Best Rap Album).

What Dreams Are Made Of (2014–present)

In 2014, the duo signed with RCA Records and Dr. Luke's Kemosabe Records. Their debut studio album, What Dreams Are Made Of, contains themes of struggle relating to the brothers' often difficult upbringing in Saint Thomas. In 2015, they released singles titled "I'm That..." featuring 2 Chainz and "Locked Away" featuring Adam Levine.

Discography

The discography of Rock City contains numerous singles, mixtapes, and one album. Rock City is primarily known for their songwriting and production having written or produced songs like "Pour It Up" by Rihanna, "Mandown" by Rihanna "Replay" by Iyaz, "Bow Down/I Been On" by Beyoncé, and "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus. Many albums that Rock City has contributed to have won or been nominated for Grammy Awards. For instance, the duo wrote "If This Isn't Love" on Jennifer Hudson's Grammy Award-winning self-titled album. The group has released one album in Japan (Songs That We Wrote) and have also released numerous mixtapes and singles, including most recently, "I'm That..." (featuring 2 Chainz) and "Locked Away" (featuring Adam Levine).