Rolly Rockefeller II

**Rolly Rockefeller** (born May 8, 1972) is an American rapper and singer best known as one of the founding members of hard rock band All Business. The group’s secondary vocalist after Vernon O'Shaughnessy, Rockefeller has remained with the band for a majority of their career while simultaneously pursuing solo endeavors. The self proclaimed "Dennis the Menace of rap", Rockefeller is known for being one of the first successful white MCs, with his inclusion on All Business to dabble in new jack swing, nu-metal, and, later, trap stylings. He is also noted for his theatrical stage presence, which included doing an excessive number of backflips, and for his connections to the Rockefeller dynasty.

The great-great grandson of business magnate John D Rockefeller, Rolly developed an interest in music during his ample free time as a child. He became enamored with the burgeoning genre of rap, as well as quiet storm R&B and hair metal. At the age of 17 he met O'Shaughnessy and pianist Cleveland Vickers, with the three quickly forming The Businessmen. Rolly sang lead vocals for their first few performances, as he could not play any musical instruments. This lead him to believe that he would be the band's frontman, however his prominence in the band shrunk as more and more members joined. By the time they had become All Business, Rolly was relegated to lead vocals on only 1-2 songs for each of their first four albums. Heavily inspired by new jack swing, singles like "We're Gonna Make It (To The Bedroom (Baby))" and "I Dance Better Alone" achieved chart success despite sticking out amongst the band's otherwise hard rock output. Many of the members loathed both these songs and Rockefeller himself, however O'Shaughnessy kept him around for his small stake in his family's fortune. Rolly happily accepted his role as the self appointed "group rapper" with Vernon treating him so well, however his importance to the band started to slip as they experienced more success. After not having any solo songs on their album *Man's Best Friend* (1996), Rockefeller quit the band in frustration to pursue a solo career.

Rockefeller would rejoin his All Business bandmates for their 18 disc 8th release *18 Kings* (1997), which included his solo disc *Friends Become Family Upon My Crowning.* After the disastrous Kings of Jack Tour, which he co-headlined with New Edition, Rolly would officially rejoin All Business for their Back on the Road tour. Although new jack swing had fallen out of favor, rap's growing popularity throughout the 1990s led Vernon to take him more seriously. His occasional verses over the band's more hard rock songs were credited as an early influence on Nu-Metal, which the band would explore on their 13th album *We've Got Something to Say* (2000). The first album Rolly executive produced for All Business, the band would disband shortly afterwards during the disastrous Stage 2 Tour. The backflipping Rolly, who claimed he had "things to say physically", would injure himself so badly on the tour that he would retire from backflipping altogether.

## Discography

### All Business

* *Back to Basics* (1992)
* *Back 2 Basics* (1992)
* *Mogul Status: Executive Perks* (1993)
* *Uniting the World* (1993)
* *The Band That Rocked the Fable* (1994)
* *Man’s Best Friend* (1996)
* *Friends Become Family Upon My Crowning* (as part of the *18 Kings* release) (1997)
* *The Lonely Road* (1998)
* *God Bless America* (1998)
* *Humble Servants* (1998)
* *The Real History* (1999)
* *We’ve Got Something to Say* (2000)
* *Back to Business* (2015)
* *Back 3 Basics* (2016)
* *Buy Low, Sell High* (2017)
* *Barely Legal: The Gangsters* (2018)
* *Rockstantinople: Dawn of an Empire* (2020)
* *X Marks the Spot* (2024)
* *Red Scare* (2025)
* *Last Men Standing* (2028)