Black Roses (Foxy Brown album)

Black Roses
Studio album by Foxy Brown
Released	2012
Recorded	2004 - 2012
Genre	Rap/Hip Hop
Producer	The Neptunes, Kanye West, Timbaland, Trackmasters, Dave Kelly, Rich Fly, Sean Burna, phifer da don
Foxy Brown chronology
Brooklyn's Don Diva (2008) Black Roses (2012)

Black Roses is the fourth studio album from American hip-hop artist Foxy Brown. The album was at first slated to be released sometime in July 2005 but was delayed due to sampling problems and lack of promotion from her former label, Def Jam Records. Recently in an interview with Billboard.com on February 24, 2011, Foxy stated the album is back on track and she wants to release it between August and September 2011.

Album information

After leaving Def Jam Records after her disappointment in the canceled release of her studio album, Ill Na Na 2: The Fever, Brown began recording in late 2004. Months after, she reunited with Jay-Z after performing dates on his Best of Both World Tours. After signing back to Def Jam Records under his regime, Brown and Jay-Z began work on Black Roses with production by The Neptunes, Kanye West, Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Dave Kelly.^{[citation needed]} Brown confirmed guest appearances by Barrington Levy, Dido, Luther Vandross, Mos Def, Baby Cham, Spragga Benz, Shyne, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, KRS-One, Roxanne Shante, and Jay-Z although it is uncertain whether all will make the final cut for the album.^{[citation needed]}

After suffering from a hearing loss and pushing back release dates for the album, Brown left Def Jam Records for the second time and launched an independent record label, Black Rose Entertainment, in a distribution deal with Koch Records. According to Brown, two albums worth of material had been recorded between 2004 and 2007 and she planned to release some of the material onto the street album, Brooklyn's Don Diva.

Album title

In November 2004, Brown announced that the title for her upcoming album would be "Black Roses", explaining, "My best friend Barrington Levy has a song called "Black Roses." He's been traveling all over the world and never seen a black rose in no other garden. When he found his black rose, he knew that shit was special. Y'all niggas can have all the female rappers in the world, but there's only one black rose. I feel that's me."

In November 2004, Brown announced that she would be the first artist signed to Jay-Z's upcoming imprint record label S. Carter Records. Rather than launching the imprint though, Jay-Z became the new president and CEO of Def Jam Records, where he signed Brown as one of the first artists on his new roster.

Hearing loss

On December 8, 2005, Brown announced she had experienced severe and sudden sensorineural hearing loss in both ears and she had not heard another person's voice in six months. Brown put Black Roses aside during this time.

In June 2006, Brown said her hearing had been restored through surgery and she was planning to resume recording. Her label did not set a release date, but hoped the album would be out by the end of 2006. They were unsure if the title Black Roses would be kept.

In November 2006, there was speculation that Jay-Z was disappointed in Foxy's Browns "lack of productivity on the album" and was planning to drop her from the Def Jam label. The planned December 2006 release of Black Roses was cancelled.

On May 22, 2007, Black Hand Entertainment announced a management deal with Brown, with Chaz Williams as her manager. No release date was set for Black Roses, but Brown said the album was nearly complete. A release date of September 6, 2007 was announced two days later.

On August 16, 2007, Black Hand Entertainment announced that Brown would leave Def Jam Records to launch an independent record label, Black Rose Entertainment, distributed by Koch Records. A street album, Brooklyn Don Diva, was scheduled with a release date of December 4, 2007, but was delayed until May 13, 2008.

Release dates & cancellation

Black Roses release has been pushed back several times. In May 2005, the release date was set for July 26, 2005. The next month, it was pushed back to August 23, 2005. In July 2006, Black Roses had a December 2006 release. In May 2007, Brown announced the album would be released on September 6, 2007. As of August 2007, Black Roses was rumored to be set for a 2008 release date, but nothing was further confirmed. Brown was expected to first release the street album Brooklyn's Don Diva on May 13, 2008, following her April 2008 release from prison. In an interview with Billboard.com, Foxy stated that the album is back on track and she personally wants in to drop in August or September 2011.

External links

• Foxy Brown's Official MySpace Page
• Foxy Brown at the Internet Movie Database
• ASCAP