The Introduction: Jay Rock

I stop by the Warner Brother office to kick it with their new signee Jay Rock. Born and raised in Watts, California’s notorious Nickerson Gardens Projects, Jay Rock got his first encouragement from his music-making relatives, who noticed the impact his deep, melodic voice made on song after song. “They were like, ‘you’re hard. And you’ve got a voice for it, too,” Jay Rock recalls. “A lot of people started hearing me and they would tell me that my voice catches them. So, I started working it, working on my craft and got more and more confidence.”

Jay Rock’s confidence led to a string of heated appearances on neighborhood mixtapes. The gifted rhymer’s clever phrasing, gritty realism, storytelling swagger and powerful voice grabbed the attention of Top Dawg Entertainment boss Dude Dawg. Once in the studio with an independent company backing him, Jay Rock’s output increased and improved.

After shopping his demo to a number of major labels, Jay Rock and Top Dawg earned a deal with industry powerhouse Warner Bros. Records, also home to E-40, Murs and Talib Kweli, among others. The Warner Bros. executives were impressed with Jay Rock’s distinctive flow, his vivid lyrics and, of course, his “voice”. I on the other hand was impressed with much more, Jay rock has a humbleness and demenor that hasn’t been seen in new emerging artist. Jay Rock & I spoke on his deal, relationships with west coast rappers and much more.