Jay Rock

Jay Rock is by no means unusual in choosing to forgo his birth name - that’s Johnny Reed McKinzie, Jr., to save you the inconvenience of Googling it - for a more credible moniker, but then again, there was little in the way of unusual as far as his upbringing was concerned either, certainly in terms of his peers in the hip hop scene; he grew up in Watts, Los Angeles, an area known for its levels of relative poverty and severe drug problem on the streets. Rock, like many young men of his age in the area, was faced with a stark choice - sell drugs, or pursue a career in music. Thankfully for him, he had the talent to pull off the latter, and hasn’t looked back since making his name in late 2008 with his debut single, ‘All My Life (In the Ghetto)’. It took a while for Rock to put out his debut album, but once he eventually got Follow Me Home out there in the summer of 2011, he quickly carved out his own fanbase; it didn’t harm his credibility to have the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Rick Ross guesting on the record. Since then, Rock’s gone from strength to strength, and his energetic live shows - where his love for the fans is obvious - have met with a rapturous reception from critics.

Jay Rock himself was really good his DJ got everyone hyped up before which helped to set the tone really well. Combined a good mixture of hyped up songs with more introspective ones and talked a bit between songs which was cool, but it would have been even better if he did more songs off 90059. Crowd got more and more into it towards then end when he played Wow Freestyle and Win which was a good way to finish the show. The O2 Academy put on their own opener called Big Heath who was painfully bad and killed the vibe for the majority of the crowd before the main show though, would have been a lot better if they put someone else or or nothing at all tbh.

The show was amazing. I loved that they had a contest for the opener! Jay Rock and Reason were so kind when I met them. My friends and I arrived only a few hours before doors opened but were still the first ones to the venue. We were also first to the meet and greet and first to the stage, so we got the best spot in the house-front and center stage.

The concert was good but the main person I went for, SZA, wasn’t even there! Not sure what’s going to be done about this, but I don’t think it’s fair for my friends and I to have bought our tickets for SZA and didn’t even get to see her...

incredible performance from a true hip-hop artist. mesmerizing flow, honesty and brutal energy straight from Compton! Jay Rock represented TDE in the best of ways in a burning Elysee Montmarte in Paris