Ester Dean & Makeba Riddick Take Home BMI Pop Awards!

Congratulations to ESTER DEAN and MAKEBA RIDDICK for their wins at last night’s 60th Annual BMI Pop Awards!

Makeba won  for her Award Winning Song “Rude Boy.”

Ester Dean, Benny Blanco and Pitbull all earned the coveted “BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year” title.

She also won 5 writer and publisher awards for her work on “Rude Boy,” “Firework,” “S&M,” “Super Bass,” and “What’s My Name” and took home the BMI Pop Song of the Year Award for “Firework.”

Her hard work has definitely not gone un-noticed.

Download: Cocaine 80s- “The Pursuit EP”

With production by the most sought after producer in music, No I.D., The Pursuit EP features vocals from Steve Wyreman, Rob Kinelski, Kevin Randolph, James Fauntleroy, Makeba Riddick and more. So kick back, relax and find a nice spot to unwind to the sounds of Cocaine 80s.

Get The Pursuit EP for free! In exchange, just Tweet about it.

Don’t have a Twitter account? No worries, download The Pursuit EP here.

Tracklisting:

1. Nameless
2. Summer Madness
3. To Tell You The Truth
4. Get You Some
5. Not No More
6. Nothing
7. Anywhere But Here

Roc Nation Wins Big At The Grammys!

Congratulations to the Roc Nation artists, writers and producers who won big at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards last night!

JAY-Z
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group- “On To The Next One”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration- “Empire State of Mind”
Best Rap Song- “Empire State of Mind”

Rihanna
Best Dance Recording- “Only Girl In The World”

Philip Lawrence
Best Urban/Alternative Performance- “F**k You”

Shux
Best Rap Song- “Empire State of Mind”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration- “Empire State of Mind”

Makeba Riddick
Best Rap Album- “Recovery”

ROC NATION ROCS THE GRAMMYS NOMINATIONS!

Congratulations to all the Roc Nation artists, writers and producers nominated for the 53rd Annual GRAMMYS!

JAY-Z – 6 Nominations
Record of the year
“Empire State Of Mind”

Best performance by Duo or Group
“On to the Next One”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Empire State Of Mind”

Best Rap Song
“Empire State Of Mind”
“On To The Next One”

Best Rap Album
The Blueprint 3

Rihanna – 4 Nominations
Record Of the Year
“Love The Way You Lie”

Best Dance Recording
“Only Girl (In The World)”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Love the Way You Lie”

Best Short Form Music Video
“Love The Way You Lie (explicit version)

Philip Lawrence – 5 Nominations
Record Of The Year
“Nothin On You”
“F**k You”

Song Of The Year
“F**k You”

Best Rap Song
“Nothin On You”

Producer Of The Year
The Smeezingtons

Shux – 2 Nominations
Record Of The Year
“Empire State Of Mind”

Best Rap Song
“Empire State Of Mind”

Makeba Riddick – 2 Nominations
Record Of The Year
“Love the Way You Lie”

Album of The Year
“Recovery”

Melanie Fiona – 1 Nomination
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Wake Up! Everybody”

Tune into the 53rd Annual GRAMMYS February 13th at 8pm on CBS!

Makeeba Riddick Featured In The L.A. Times

Check out famed songwriter Makeeba Riddick’s Los Angeles Times interview. See below:

Makeba Riddick walks into Takami Sushi & Robata Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles every bit as stunning as any diva, with vibrant pink lipstick, glittering earrings, heels that reach the high heavens and luscious locks.

To the wait staff she’s just another glamizon getting lunch, but if they dialed the radio from the ambient soundscapes to a Top 40 channel they’d hear one of the scores of hits the 31-year-old has penned for divas like Rihanna, Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton.

This particular day Riddick is apologetic for running a tad late, though only by a few minutes. She had to fit in a vocal session with Rihanna — who was overseas on tour. Still fresh off her fifth No. 1 single — she penned the singer’s current hit, “Rude Boy” — Riddick’s happy to honor the request from the singer who is already hard at work crafting her next album.

Riddick is dedicated to her work — she once hopped on a flight to Milan after just returning to New York from a London trip to work with the superstar. The result, “Live Your Life,” a collaboration with rapper T.I., ended up being a smash.

“She’s the type of artist that, she’s on the road a lot and she’ll have an entourage that’s like family. It’s really fun, but it’s a lot of work,” Riddick later says of her frequent collaborations with Rihanna (the two have worked together on all four of Rihanna’s albums). “Her schedule, my schedule, photo shoots and all of that — and trying to meet the deadlines from the label.”

Read the full interview here.

Makeba Riddick Talks Supporting BMI & More

Songwriter Makeba Riddick talks supporting BMI, writing and producing at the Salute To BMI’s BET Awards Nominees in Los Angeles, CA. Check it out here.

Meet the Songwriter Behind Rihanna’s Hit “Rude Boy”

US Magazine featured Roc Nation’s own, Makeba Riddick, shedding light on her most recent project “Rude Boy”! See below:

“Makeba Riddick is no stranger to scoring success with Rihanna. After the vocal producer and songwriter saw her smash “Live Your Life” featuring the Barbados beauty hit the top of the charts in 2008, Riddick teamed with the singer again to nab her fifth Billboard No. 1 with the island-flavored anthem “Rude Boy.”

Baltimore native Riddick, who also just watched hit “Acapella” by Kelis fly to the top spot on the Billboard Dance Singles Chart at the same time, has worked with everyone from Beyonce to Jennifer Lopez to Mariah Carey during her short but fiery career. Not to mention she’s also managed by the one and only Jay-Z’s company and she’s a Berklee College of Music grad!

I decided I wanted to know a bit more about her and what’s behind that magic pen of hers so I gave her a buzz last week.”

Read the full article here!