SuppliedJay Rock
90059
Top Dawg Entertainment
With his major label debut in 2011, it has been four years since we’ve seen an album release from Jay Rock. 90059 marks his second album, released on September 11th, and in a very short amount of time has garnered a lot of attention and emphasis on Rock as a developing west coast artist.
90059 clearly has a west side feel and is reminiscent of 90’s hip-hop, a feeling that has been established with help from the rest of California-based Black Hippy on the shadowy, stand-out single Vice City to the features from fellow TDE members Isaiah Rashad and SZA.
Jay Rock has a hard and gritty delivery, yet his rhymes still pronounce with enough clarity and precision to get lost in the narrative of life in his hood, 90059 – which is the zip code for Watts, California. One of the more significant aspects of this album is the time between Rock’s verses, which sees Lance Skiiiwalker – Rock’s alter ego – often providing quick and somewhat unconventional hooks that are interesting, though may be various in its success to listeners.
The production on this album is darker and less-demanding than the impatient, often trap-influenced beats we hear in mainstream rap, which assist Rock in his letter to the 90059, the place where his tales of crime, jealousy, and dejection provide strong images of what it’s like in the streets of his hometown. So do yourself and Jay Rock a favour, give him a high-five, pop the cd in the whip, and if you roll the windows down you might just see some palm trees.
