Happy Birthday, Jay Rock!

Today, March 31, is the 33rd birthday of West Coast rapper and TDE OG Jay Rock.

Born Johnny McKinzie, Jr. in Watts, Los Angeles, Rock avoided the gang lifestyle by rapping. Rock was signed to Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. Since linking up with TDE, Rock signed a joint deal with Tech N9ne's label, Strange Music and has collabed with the likes of Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar and more. In 2008, Rock dropped his debut single "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" featuring Lil Wayne and will.i.am.

Jay Rock's steady rise earned him a spot on the XXL 2010 Freshman cover beside Freddie Gibbs, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa and Big Sean. And after a slew of mixtapes, Rock released his debut album, Follow Me Home, in 2011, which included "All My Life" and "Hood Gone Love It" featuring Kendrick Lamar.

A frequent Black Hippy collaborator, Jay Rock is hailed for his fire verse on Kendrick Lamar's 2012 single "Money Trees." As the label's most tenured artist, The California MC has continued to release singles, assisted K. Dot during his appearance on Saturday Night Live and dropped his highly acclaimed sophomore album, 90059, named after his hometown area code in September of 2015.

More recently, Jay Rock dropped a single from the Black Panther soundtrack, "King's Dead," featuring Future and label mate Kendrick Lamar. The song is set to be the lead single from Jay Rock's forthcoming 2018 album, which is as of yet untitled.

Happy Birthday, Jay Rock!

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