R. City (short for Rock City; and formerly Planet VI) is a hip hop duo formed by Virgin Islander brothers Theron "Uptown AP" Thomas and Timothy "A.I." Thomas in 2003. Primarily known as a songwriting and record production team, the duo amassed numerous credits for prominent music industry artists prior to signing with Kemosabe Records, an imprint of RCA Records in 2014. The following year, their single "Locked Away" (featuring Adam Levine) peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of their debut studio album, What Dreams Are Made Of (2015).
Prior, the duo signed with Akon's KonLive Distribution, an imprint of Geffen Records in 2007, having received their first commercial songwriting credit for the singer. Due to the long-term delay of their scheduled debut album for the label, Wake the Neighbors, they released the mixtape series PTFAO (Put the F*ckin' Album Out). Their 2008 debut single, "Losin' It" failed to chart. The duo parted ways with KonLive in 2011 and continued work in songwriting. Since signing to Kemosabe, they often collaborate with its founder—Dr. Luke—to jointly co-write songs of which he produced.
Theron and Timothy Thomas are natives of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. They grew up in the Oswald Harris Court Projects[1] and graduated from Charlotte Amalie High School.[2][failed verification] 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.[3] In 2000, the two left the Virgin Islands to pursue their music career in Miami.[4] They initially performed under the name 2Ekwip.[5] They had limited success on the Miami nightlife scene. During this time, Theron worked for Kroger and Timothy for Party City.[4][6] They moved back to St. Thomas in 2005.
Label issues, Wake the Neighbors and Planet VI era (2008–13)[edit]
R. City created 15 self-released mixtapes between 2008 and 2012, many of which contained the acronym "PTFAO" (orPut 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, Rebelution Records. They intended to release their debut album, Free At Last, on their own label,[13] but the release date was later pushed back to 2009.[14] 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."[15] 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."[12][16] "Pour It Up" appeared on Rihanna's album Unapologetic, which won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards.
[17][18] The following year, Rock City contributed to three separate albums that received Grammy nominations — Miley Cyrus' Bangerz, Ariana Grande's My Everything (both were nominated in the Best Pop Vocal Album category) and Iggy Azalea's The New Classic (nominated for Best Rap Album).[4][19][20][21]
The discography of Rock City contains numerous singles, mixtapes, and one album. The group has released one compilation album exclusively in Japan (Songs That We Wrote) and has also released numerous mixtapes and singles.
