Jay Rock

Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper.

Jay Rock was born Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. on March 31, 1985.

Rock was raised in Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, in the Nickerson Gardens projects.

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.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, he signed to the local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005.

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.

Through the label, he secured a major label 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.

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.

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 through 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" (feat. Kendrick Lamar).

His second album, 90059, was released independently through only TDE and spawned the singles "Money Trees Deuce" (feat. Lance Skiiiwalker), "Gumbo", and its title-track.

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 #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.

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.

His third album, Redemption (2018), was released through Interscope Records and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 while receiving critical acclaim.

Its lead single, "King's Dead" (with Kendrick Lamar, Future, and James Blake), was shared with the Black Panther soundtrack and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching his furthest commercial success.

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

In 2019, he received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance for "King's Dead".