杰伊·罗克

Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Southern California, Rock signed with the Carson-based independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a major label joint venture deal with Warner Bros. Records and Asylum Records to release his 2008 debut single, "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" (featuring Lil Wayne and will.i.am). Failing to chart, the mergers fell through and Rock departed from both of the latter labels shortly after. He then signed with Missouri rapper Tech N9ne's label Strange Music in a joint venture deal with TDE in 2011.

Preceded by ten mixtapes for TDE, Rock's long-delayed debut studio album, Follow Me Home (2011), was released to moderate commercial reception and critical praise. It was supported by the aforementioned single, as well as "Hood Gone Love It" (featuring Kendrick Lamar). He departed Strange Music in 2014 and released his second album, 90059 (2015) the following year. He once more signed a joint venture with Interscope Records to release his third album Redemption (2018), which was met with critical acclaim and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, "King's Dead" (with Kendrick Lamar, Future, and James Blake), was shared with the Black Panther soundtrack, peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Best Rap Performance at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

Apart from his solo career, Jay Rock is also known as a member of the now-defunct hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside fellow West Coast rappers and TDE labelmates Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul.

Life and career

1985–2007: Early life and career beginnings

Jay Rock was born Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. on March 31, 1985 to Mary Williams and Johnny McKinzie Sr. He grew up with one sibling, an older brother named Steven Turner. Rock was raised in Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, in the Nickerson Gardens projects. His cousin was late rapper Earl Swavey. As a youth, he became a member of the Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang and attended Locke High School. During this time, he was jailed on two occasions, due to the area's anti-gang injunction. In 2005, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, chief executive officer (CEO) of independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), discovered Rock and signed him to his label, after hearing a verse of his. After signing to TDE, Rock released several mixtapes throughout his neighborhood and via the internet. With the help of TDE, Rock was able to secure a recording contract with Asylum Records and later a joint venture deal with Warner Bros. Records, in 2007. At TDE, Jay Rock met fellow labelmate Kendrick Lamar, and the two would go on multiple tours together, honing their craft. The two often feature on each other's records, and along with Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q would form the supergroup Black Hippy.

2008–2013: Follow Me Home

Rock released his commercial debut single, "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" in late 2008, featuring fellow American recording artists Lil Wayne and will.i.am. The single was promoted as one of "iTunes's Free Downloads" in early 2009. In 2010, Rock was featured on the cover of XXL's annual Top 10 Freshmen issue. He was also named by MTV one of 2010's breakthrough MCs. Jay Rock was featured on Omarion's song "Hoodie" and was supposed to be featured on Flo Rida's third studio album Only One Flo but was left off the final track listing.

Rock's mixtape Tales From the Hood 2 went to iTunes on March 28, 2010, and his mixtape From the Hood to the Cover of XXL was released to iTunes on July 24, 2010. He also toured with 50 Cent, and other rappers on The Invitation Tour. Around the same time he left Warner Bros. due to them delaying his album. Jay Rock then signed with indie record label Strange Music in the Fall of 2010, on a multi-album deal after leaving from Warner Bros. Jay Rock then went on tour with Tech N9ne, E-40, Glasses Malone, Kutt Calhoun and Kendrick Lamar on the "Independent Grind National Tour". His mixtape Black Friday, was released December 7, 2010, to iTunes.

On June 21, 2011, Rock released his second single, "Hood Gone Love It", featuring Kendrick Lamar. His debut album Follow Me Home was released on July 26, 2011, under independent record labels Strange Music and Top Dawg. The album debuted at No. 83 on the Billboard 200, selling 5,300 copies in its first week. "Hood Gone Love It" was featured in the character trailer for Franklin, a main protagonist in the video-game Grand Theft Auto V. The song is also featured in the in-game radio station Radio Los Santos.