The strongest moments on his third album, Redemption, show the ever-unassuming Jay Rock leaning into what he excels at: telling it like it is. He’s a role player, but an essential one - evidence that rappers can succeed without commanding the spotlight. He has proven to be invaluable to TDE, not only as its Patient Zero, but as the straight-shooter in contrast to Lamar’s high-concept ambitions or Q’s brash magnetism. Still, despite being widely considered less dynamic than his TDE companions, Jay Rock has managed to earn the respect of his peers and hip-hop fans at large, in part because of his consistent, no-frills verses. In 2015, he released his second album, 90059, only to be badly injured in a motorcycle accident in the months afterwards. He languished in the background, even that his work on 2012 Lamar’s “Money Trees,” from good kid, m.A.A.d city, the project that rocketed TDE to mainstream legitimacy, remains arguably the most memorable guest appearance within the TDE network. His 2011 debut, Follow Me Home, was overshadowed by Lamar’s lauded Section.80, which was released just three weeks prior. Records after idling on the label’s shelf. He was the label’s first signee, the first to ink a major label deal, and the first to flirt with commercial success: it’s been a decade since his “All My Life (In the Ghetto),” featuring a Carter lll-era Lil Wayne, surfaced, its video penetrating the MTV Jams rotation. Lamar is TDE’s superstar, of course, but Jay Rock is the bedrock of its ascent.
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