Rita Ora wants off of Roc Nation, claiming she’s been “orphaned” — with Jay Z and Roc Nation Sports focusing more on the companies athletic ventures.
In a complaint filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, she’s seeking a declaratory judgment that the recording agreement she signed in 2008 at the age of 18 with Roc Nation violates California law and is unenforceable.
Ora is taking such action after presenting herself as “orphaned” from Roc Nation in light of the Jay-Z company’s developing interest in sports management and other endeavors.
“When Rita signed, Roc Nation and its senior executives were very involved with her as an artist,” states the complaint. “As Roc Nation’s interests diversified, there were fewer resources available and the company suffered a revolving door of executives. Rita’s remaining supporters at the label left or moved on to other activities, to the point where she no longer had a relationship with anyone at the company.”
With unmistakable references to Jay-Z’s new pursuits (the streaming service Tidal is mentioned), the lawsuit paints Roc Nation as a “diminished” record label with “only a handful of admittedly worthy heritage superstar artists.”
Ora’s point is that she’s her own, “promotional companY” — funding everything from television appearances to her music videos.