Jay Rock – 90059
In a time when much of mainstream hip-hop is dominated by the trap scene and its torchbearers – Young Thug, Future, and Migos, among others – it’s a genuine pleasure to hear new rap excel with a classic sound. That’s exactly what 90059, the sophomore release from TDE’s Jay Rock, does with just eleven songs.
After a four-year hiatus since his debut, “Follow Me Home,” Jay Rock opens his new project with “Necessary,” a track with a springy beat that finds him energetic and hungry on the verses. In the hook, however, as the beat fades into the background, Rock becomes almost detached: “You gotta do what you got to just to get over the hill/When you live in America, either kill or be killed,” he raps darkly. In his home neighborhood of Watts, Los Angeles – which lends its zip code to the album’s title – Jay Rock knows the things he’s done in the streets have been necessary for survival, even if they weren’t always moral.
“Easy Bake” continues from there and introduces the album’s first features, Kendrick Lamar and SZA. The beat bangs, as Jay Rock snarls, like it’s “fresh out the oven,” and the subject matter reflects it: Rock likes to drink, he likes his women, and he loves his money, but he struggles with the destructive lifestyle that comes with an excess of all three. The song truly shines when Kendrick and Rock trade bars: “This my shakin’ down you niggas’ pockets, I don’t do friends/And I don’t do trends/Fuck it though I’ll ride with you then! Bring the troops in/I’ll fuck around and let ’em loose then.” Kendrick’s voice is that of a cold, robotic killer until he explodes to trade bars with Rock, who demonstrates he is more than capable of holding his own alongside King Kendrick. SZA’s voice is a smooth, emotive contrast on her verse, turning down the heated exchange and flowing nicely into the next track.
The third track, “Gumbo,” is named for Rock’s grandmother, whose gumbo recipe he tries to emulate in his music – flavorful, full of diverse sounds, and open for anyone to taste. It goes down just as well too. The hook – “Hold up wait a minute/Let me put some season in this Gumbo” – is Rock putting that flavor back into the rap game, and is sung equal parts soulfully and sorrowfully to exemplify that.
“Wanna Ride” brings us another TDE feature, Isaiah Rashad, not rapping but singing a hook instead. Gritty as hell in its production, and with an almost sinister vibe, the song sees a raspy Isaiah repeat “the world is mine” in between Jay Rock spitting all the reasons why. Although it would have been interesting to hear some actual bars from Rashad, the song does not disappoint.
“The Ways” comes in next with a new talent named SiR, a young singer with an old sound from Southern California. The whole song sounds fittingly retro, both in the production and the overdone topic of women competing for Jay Rock’s love, and may easily be dismissed as a throwaway song as a result. But while Jay Rock is definitely not as lyrically impressive as he is on “Easy Bake, ”after a couple listens SiR’s singing shines enough to overcome first impressions.
Lance Skiiiwalker, who is really just an alter ego of Jay Rock, is a credited feature on “Telegram (Going Krazy).” Rock’s singing is smoother as his other personality, but there’s not an immediately larger point to naming himself something else just to sing hooks. The song is a relationship tune at its core, and one that offers more excellent verses from Jay Rock: “I rap to try to better our situation/Wanna scroll through my text message for vindication/You Judge Judy, I’m comin’ home to litigations.”
Over the halfway point comes “90059,” the title track featuring Rock as Lance Skiiiwalker once more, where instead of smooth he is distorted, frustrated, and almost weeping at times. As himself on the verses, Jay Rock is aggressive, going in with a clear voice and an intense delivery. Interestingly, the beat is not an obviously angry one, which makes Rock’s urgency that much more palpable. For being the album’s eponymous track, “90059” does not disappoint.
“Vice City” is a Black Hippy posse cut, something that always manages to generate hype and praise. Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q all murder it, and Jay Rock is definitely on par with them all. The flow that Kendrick introduces ends up being the one they all deliver with, one that would aptly be called the Obama flow for its emphasis on the end of each sentence. The crew raps about vices they know are killing them, and not being able to stand themselves, but it’s done in a carefree, almost resigned way that illustrates the difficulty of grappling with their lifestyle.
“Fly on the Wall” features Busta Rhymes and a sadder, more reflective Jay Rock after his debaucheries on “Vice City.” The simple, somber beat sets the tone and puts focus on his words, and the rain sounds in the background ensure no one can hear you cry. The fast-rapping Busta Rhymes does not stick out like the sore thumb one would assume he would be on such a slow song; the mellow tone is maintained all while he kills his verse.
“Money Trees Deuce”, again featuring Jay Rock as Lance, is the sequel to the song “Money Trees” off of Kendrick Lamar’s 2012 debut, “good kid, m.A.A.d city.” Anyone who heard Rock’s verse on the original should be excited to hear the sequel. Lance Skiiiwalker sings well once more, but the reason for his existence as an alter ego is left largely unanswered. The song, much like the original, features a mellow vibe and a restrained, yet powerful Jay Rock. In the end, the message is the same as his verse on the original: “Go hard for what you believe in. Stay up, wake up, cake up, get paper, and I swear to God things will fall in your favor.”
The album’s conclusion, “The Message,” sounds ridiculously beautiful, courtesy of production by J.LBS and Sounwave, the latter well known for his work on many of Kendrick’s hits, including “m.A.A.d city” and “King Kunta.” The Jay Rock we see in the end is determined and unyielding above all, aware that it’s his time now as he raps “I’m caught in this ghetto rapture, spirit detached/I’m smoking backwoods looking for greener pastures.” The hook, delivered by relatively unknown singer Vic Smitty, is sorrowful and hopeful simultaneously, a fitting end to 90059.
As a whole, Jay Rock’s sophomore record is fantastic, and arguably one of the best rap albums of 2015. Not a single song sounds out of place, even if some are more impressive than others, notably “Easy Bake,” “Gumbo,” and “Vice City.” Because of the four year hiatus on Jay Rock’s part, it would have been nice if 90059 was longer than eleven songs, even if that meant previously released singles like “Pay For It” were simply added to the tracklist. With the incredibly poignant To Pimp A Butterfly from Kendrick Lamar earlier this year, and with both ScHoolboy Q and Ab-Soul reportedly releasing projects in the next year, TDE season is upon us. Let’s just hope Jay Rock doesn’t wait another four years to release his junior effort.
