Tag Archives: around-the-way

‘When she walks into a room, her energy picks you up,” Hov tells MTV News of his Roc Nation signee. By Rob Markman Jay-Z Photo: MTV News Jay-Z sure knows how to make dreams come true. Through the years, Hov has provided platforms for quite a few key artists like Kanye West and Rihanna — maybe you’ve heard of ’em. He has also lent a hand to a few less notables — Rell, anyone? — but when it comes to Roc Nation’s new pop starlet Rita Ora , Hova has high hopes. “She’s one of the people that, if you were in the position, you say, ‘I’m gonna help her get her dream out and then we’ll see what happens,’ ” Jay-Z told MTV News about the Kosovo-born, West London-bred singer when we caught up with him in Philadelphia on Monday. “I think her energy is infectious, because out the gate, two #1s in London and she’ll just continue to grow from there.” The later of the two #1s that Jigga references is her current single “R.I.P.,” a track that was co-written by Drake and features Tinie Tempah. The fiery electro-love ode finds Ora staking her claim in a convoluted love triangle, making sensual offers that her boo simply can’t refuse. “R.I.P. to the girl you used to see,” she sings with a sexy wit. What’s not to love about Rita? She perfectly balances over-the-top talent with a simple, around-the-way-girl charm. Her debut U.S. single “How We Do (Party)” is a nod to the Notorious B.I.G.’s 1991 underground track “Party and Bullsh–,” doesn’t get more around the way than that. (She told us last month she’s a ” huge Notorious B.I.G. fan.”) You’ll be hard-pressed to find a bigger B.I.G. fan than Jay, and it just so happens he’s pretty fond of Rita as well. “She was the cool girl that worked in the sneaker store in the hood and everyone knew of her. She was just in there dreamin’ and she just wanted it so bad,” he said, describing Ora with awe. “You could just feel the excitement and the energy when she walks in the room, the room really changes. I know a lot of people say that and it gets to be clich