Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Watts, California. Rock ultimately chose to pursue a career as a rapper over a life of street crime. Anthony Tiffith, the founder and CEO of the independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), found Rock in 2005 and signed him to the label. In 2007, alongside TDE, Rock secured a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records and later Asylum Records, but mergers fell through Rock left the label. He then signed with Tech N9ne's Strange Music, in a joint-venture record deal. 　　Since 2006, Rock has released several mixtapes and first becoming known for his 2008 commercial debut single, "All My Life (In the Ghetto)", which features fellow American rappers Lil Wayne and will.i.am. Apart from his solo career, Rock is also known for being a member of the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside fellow West Coast rappers and TDE label-mates Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul. In 2011, after signing his joint-venture deal with Strange Music, Rock's often-delayed and long-awaited debut studio album, Follow Me Home, was released in July of that year. The album was supported by the singles "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" and "Hood Gone Love It". His second studio album 90059 was released in September 2015. It was supported by the singles "Money Trees Deuce", "Gumbo" and the title track. In June 2018, Rock released his third studio album Redemption. He would end up winning a Grammy award for the album's single "King's Dead". All three albums have achieved relative critical and commercial success.