Born Johnnie McKenzie on March 31st, 1986, Jay Rock is a rapper from Watts, California signed to Warner Bros. and Top Dawg Entertainment. Jay Rock is also a member of hip hop supergroup Black Hippy along with fellow West Coast rappers and label mates Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul.
Before becoming a rapper, Jay Rock was a member of the Bloods street gang and lived in Nickerson Garden Housing Communities, which is the largest housing community west of the Mississippi river. After being jailed several times for gang injunction, Jay Rock decided to clean up his act and decided to pursue a rapping career. His debut studio album Follow Me Home was released on July 26, 2011. He has since signed to Interscope Records which will handle the distribution on his future albums.