The Scene

Jay Rock may not be the most well known member of Top Dawg Entertainment, but he is certainly the most important artist in the TDE stable. Rock has been on the scene since 2008 after being plucked out of Watts by Top Dawg and Rock's paved the way for TDE to become a force in not only hip hop but all of music.

'Follow Me Home' was Rock's first offering and I loved it. Rock flexed his muscle on the mic to the point where I thought of him as the best gangsta rapper along with Freddie Gibbs, but since that 2011 release Rock has largely remained quiet in terms of serving up more music. TDE nerds will note that Rock has featured on his stable-mates work often so it's never really felt like Rock wasn't active, but his new album 90059 is the first project that we get to enjoy from Rock since he and TDE effectively blew up.

The Songs

Necessary - Sets the tone, here to knock doors down kinda vibe. Rock at his best lyrically.
Easy Bake ft. Kendrick Lamar & SZA - Anyone who can go back and forth with Kendrick is slick. Peep the SZA feature at the end.
Gumbo - Rock rides a funky beat, dropping bits of seasoning in hip hop's gumbo.
Wanna Ride ft Isaiah Rashad - Ain't no rapper need Tinder
The Ways ft. Sir - An eerie beat provides nice back drop for a few lessons.
Telegram (Going Krazy) - Introspective from Rock, nicely switching it up
90059 - Poetry that takes you straight to the 90059
Vice City ft. Black Hippy - Dope posse cut, peep how they all adopt a similar rhyme scheme.
Fly On The Wall ft. Busta Rhymes - Story time from Rock but a forgettable verse from Busta.
Money Trees Deuce - The follow up which sees Rock breaking from the shackles of the 90059.
The Message - The future is bright and Rock's not only the TDE veteran but he also shows that he's a leader on the outgoing track.

The Vibe

The earlier work of Jay Rock was raw, just like Jay Rock. That drew me in as I've always enjoyed the realest of street tales, especially when they are coming out of South Central Los Angeles. However, there's been a lot going on since 2011 and everything has been flipped on its head with Jay Rock going through a drastic period of change which has also allowed to experience a whole bunch of new things.

While 90059 certainly still has that rawness - which will never not be in Rock's music because that's who he is - there is a far more experimental vibe to this album. Whether it be Rock rapping about the ups and downs of relationships or just providing a more graphic picture of life in the 90059 (Watts' area code), Rock's growth and development is what stands out the most on 90059. What that gives the listener is a sharper journey through Watts, which is what I interpreted this album to be mainly about while Rock's growth as an artist sees him serve up the stories and hood commentary in funky new ways. Whether Rock experiments with his voice or rhyme patterns, there's constant examples as to why you shouldn't underestimate Rock's lyrical ability.

The Music

There isn't a whole lot of variety in the sounds of the 11 songs on 90059, which isn't a bad thing and actually goes down nicely. Each jam has hard hitting drums and some sort of funkiness which combines perfectly to present an overall sound that can only really evoke images of a gritty street in your mind.

J. LBS is behind the boards on five songs, the most of any producer with the rest of the production credits going to Black Metaphor, JRB For The Coalition, Skhye Hutch, ThankGod4Cody, Antydote, Chris Calor, SmokeyGotBeatz, Tae Beast, Cardo, Yung Exclusive, Dae One, AAyhasis, Flippa, J Proof and Sounwave. As you guessed, that's a lot of different producers but it doesn't hinder or segment the sound of the album and it's dope that Rock is providing such opportunities to a whole host of different producers in the game.

What is also dope is that each song has some sort of little musical gem or a lack of any sort of predictability. I'll let you experience this yourself but just pay attention to all the different sounds or lack of sounds that come and go in each jam.

"Got to play a fool to catch a fool though
Never let yo left know what your right doin', that's numero uno
Back to life, I'm standin' on my tomb door
Why you actin' puto, she call me papi chulo" Wanna Ride

"Feel like this is my moment, feel it's time for change
Excercise in game, niggas vibe the change
No looking back at it, cause this is that moment
I step forward ready to go at each and every opponent
Give it to anybody that want it
Represent the underdog, training in the gym
'Till the minute, they get they number called
I'm speed bagging it's worth, the trainers see me smashing
With perspiration on the back of my shirt, making them sweat" Necessary

"All that stressing, it taught me lessons
Caught blessings, went back to stressin'
And that moment when death is present
Had me praying and asking questions
I had no answers so I had to bottle up that aggression
Load up them hollows and I had to follow my direction
Don't know where I'm headed
I can't look back though, there's nothing there
But backstabbers, snakes that slither, decisions when nothing's fair" The Message

Eureka!

The Black Hippy jams can be used as a barometer to gauge just how far Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q have come. 'Say Wassup' featured on 'Follow Me Home' while 'Black Lip Bastard' was on Ab-Soul's 'Control System' and 'Vice City' follows suit but reflects on TDE's current position.

SZA gets her moment to shine as well, so does Isaiah Rashad so don't sleep on them either.

Imagine the studio sessions when all TDE members are in the house. Rock has always been nice on the mic but it's clear that he's stepped things up which you'd assume has come watching Kendrick and Ab-Soul take lead in terms of straight bars.

Finale

90059 is an impressive body of work and fits the trend of rappers going back in time to release cohesive albums as opposed to hot singles. Jay Rock is as skilled on the mic as many in the game but to say that he's not as good as Kendrick Lamar or other TDE members defeats the purpose because I've always seen each TDE member as covering a different base. Rock is a hardcore dude who's street cred is equal to his skill in sharing those stories and putting together head-knocking jams that cause you to stop a check the quotes as well as provoking some sort of reflection or thoughts in the listener.

I've always loved Jay Rock but I was a bit worried about where his first album since TDE blew up would go. The first few videos and releases that we got however quickly changed my slight worry to anticipation because it was clear that Rock would serve up something slightly different while maintaining his core foundation which in this case is the 90059 concept.

It's always dope when you see an artist grow but continue to serve up quality music. A lot of the time fans don't enjoy that growth because it drastically changes the music but Jay Rock has shown on 90059 that he's an integral part of the TDE takeover thanks to a finely-tuned craft which is lacking in more prominent artists. Whack on your iPod and use it as motivation when your hitting the gym or a staircase, or allow some modern West Coast beats get your head noddin'. Either way, 90059 goes hard.