Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. Rock signed with local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a

major label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

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 Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

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 Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...

's label

Strange Music Strange Music is an American independent record label specializing in hip hop music and founded by Tech N9ne and Travis O'Guin in 1999. History In 2009 Skatterman & Snug Brim fulfilled their commitment to Strange Music and left the label. In ...

in a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

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 Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

). 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 Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

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 The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

, 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 Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ''ScHoolboy Turned Hustla'' (2008) and '' ...

, 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. Rock was raised in

Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), a list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Albie Watts, a fictional character in the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' *Angie ...

, a neighborhood in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in the Nickerson Gardens

projects A project is a type of assignment, typically involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a specific objective. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of events: a "set of interrelated tasks to be ...

. 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 A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(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

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

s 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

, 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 Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ''ScHoolboy Turned Hustla'' (2008) and '' ...

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

and will.i.am. The single was promoted as one of "

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

'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 MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

one of 2010's breakthrough MCs. Jay Rock was featured on

Omarion Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, dancer and actor. He rose to prominence as lead vocalist of the boy band B2K, which was formed in 1998 and managed by record e ...

's song "Hoodie" and was supposed to be featured on

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

'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 Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

, 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

in the Fall of 2010, on a multi-album deal after leaving from Warner Bros.
XcLusive: Jay Rock Signs to Tech N9ne's Strange Music [VIDEO. Xxlmag.Com. Retrieved on May 3, 2011. Jay Rock then went on tour with

, E-40, Glasses Malone, Kutt Calhoun and

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

. 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 #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 ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

. The song is also featured in the in-game radio station ''Radio Los Santos''. During 2012, Rock toured with the rest of Black Hippy and MMG artist Stalley, on BET's Music Matters Tour. In October 2012, Rock's appearance on Kendrick Lamar's major-label debut, '' good kid, m.A.A.d city'', was highly significant as he was the only other rapper from Black Hippy, to be featured on the standard edition of the album. Rock is featured on the song " Money Trees", for which his verse was highly acclaimed. He would later perform "Money Trees", with Lamar, at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards, along with appearing in the TDE Cypher. ''XXL'' named his verse the fourth best of the night.

2013–2017: ''90059''

In November 2013, Rock told Power 105 that his second studio album would be released in 2014. With the release of the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid co ...

nominations, it was revealed Rock was nominated for Album of the Year as a featured artist for participating on Kendrick Lamar's ''good kid, m.A.A.d city''. After the release of label-mate Ab-Soul's album '' These Days...'' in June 2014, TDE's CEO confirmed that Jay Rock would be the next artist from the label to release an album. In September 2014,

revealed that Rock had left his

imprint and is now only signed to Top Dawg Entertainment. On October 29, 2014, Jay Rock released a song titled " Pay for It", featuring Kendrick Lamar and Chantal Kreviazuk, as a promotional single. On November 15, 2014, Rock appeared on NBC late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', alongside the musical guest Lamar, where they performed "Pay For It". On February 15, 2016, Jay Rock was involved in a harsh motorcycle accident according to Top Dawg Entertainment's CEO Anthony Tiffith. According to Complex, he recovered very well, however he had a lot of broken bones. He was in surgery and successfully came out of it.

2018–present: ''Redemption''

On January 12, 2018, Jay Rock released the single " King's Dead" with

and James Blake. The song was produced by Mike Will Made It and Teddy Walton serving as the lead single to his third studio album and as a single from the soundtrack '' Black Panther: The Album''. "King's Dead" became Jay Rock's first song to chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On May 16, 2018, he released the single " Win", which served as the second single from his third studio album. After teasing a 2018 release in January, the album, titled '' Redemption'', was announced on May 21, 2018, alongside the cover art and its release date, which was released on June 15, 2018. At the 2019 Grammy Awards, both "King's Dead" and "Win" received nominations in the Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song categories, respectively. In February 2019, Rock won his first Grammy award for "King's Dead".

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

The

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

are annual awards presented by

The Recording Academy National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

. ! , - ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, " good kid, m.A.A.d. city" (as featured artist) , Album of the Year , , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1", , - , rowspan="3",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, rowspan="2", " King's Dead" , Best Rap Performance , , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3", , - , rowspan="2", Best Rap Song , , - , " Win" ,

Discography

Studio albums *'' Follow Me Home'' (2011) *'' 90059'' (2015) *'' Redemption'' (2018) *''Eastside Johnny'' (TBA)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rock, Jay 1985 births Living people African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers African-American songwriters Bloods Gangsta rappers Grammy Award winners for rap music People from Watts, Los Angeles Rappers from Los Angeles Songwriters from California Top Dawg Entertainment artists Warner Records artists West Coast hip-hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians Black Hippy members 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians American male songwriters Locke High School alumni