Jay Rock

Jay Rock is in a rare class of rappers whose verses sound off-the-cuff and exacting at once. Representing Watts with his lucid and gruff narratives, he’s a Top Dawg linchpin whose solo discography is studded with the Top 20 albums 90059 (2015) and Redemption (2018). The latter full-length holds “Win,” a highly motivational song nominated for a Grammy the same year he and labelmate Kendrick Lamar took the award for Best Rap Performance with the multi-platinum single “King’s Dead.” Jay Rock has since returned from a lengthy absence with “Eastside,” an anthemic prelude to his fourth proper album.
Johnny Reed McKinzie, Jr. was born and raised in Los Angeles, specifically the Nickerson Gardens public housing complex in the neighborhood of Watts. He caught the attention of Anthony Tiffith and in 2005 became an early signee to the CEO’s Top Dawg label. After a clutch of 2006-2008 mixtapes, including one co-billed with Kendrick Lamar (then going by K.Dot), Jay Rock in October 2008 released his first commercial single, “All My Life (In the Ghetto),” a soulful track produced by Cool & Dre with assists from Lil Wayne and will.i.am. Amid another slew of mixtapes and activity with the group Black Hippy (beside Lamar and fellow TDE associates ScHoolboy Q and Ab-Soul), Jay was named to XXL magazine’s 2010 Freshman Class. All of this culminated in the July 2011 release of Follow Me Home, Jay’s first album. Issued through a joint deal between TDE and Tech N9ne’s Strange Music, Follow Me Home hit number ten on the Billboard rap chart and entered the Billboard 200 at number 83 with help from a second single, “Hood Gone Love It,” another collaboration with Lamar.
Between full-length projects, Jay’s biggest move was an appearance on “Money Trees,” a track off Lamar’s Grammy-nominated 2012 album good kid, m.A.A.d. city. Lamar returned the favor on Jay’s 2015 follow-up, 90059. Titled after the zip code of Watts, 90059 debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 and featured “Money Trees Deuce,” a number 35 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop single. In 2018, having survived a serious motorcycle accident, Jay Rock teamed with Lamar, Future, and James Blake for the multi-platinum number 21 pop hit “King’s Dead,” which first appeared on the Black Panther soundtrack, executive-produced by Lamar. Jay’s third proper album, Redemption, followed that June on TDE and Interscope and entered the Billboard 200 at number 13, additionally promoted with the gold-certified “Win.” Jay earned three subsequent Grammy nominations: “King’s Dead” and “Win” were both up for Best Rap Song, and the former took the award for Best Rap Performance. Over the next several years, Jay Rock popped up on tracks headlined by the likes of Kembe X (“Raised a Fool”), Lil Wayne (“Bing James”), and Problem (“Nothin”). The Kal Banx collaboration “Eastside,” his first single in five years, was released in 2023. ~ Andy Kellman