Jay Rock has overcome a lot since releasing his last album, and his new album, Redemption, is the motivation and inspiration the rapper is proud to share with fans. After suffering injuries from a motorcycle accident two years ago not long after dropping his last LP, 90059, Jay is fully recovered and back with a new outlook.
Redemption is Jay Rock's third full-length studio album, following, 90059, and showcases 13 new tracks including his Black Panther soundtrack song "King's Dead" featuring Future and his new single "Win." The record also includes features from artists including Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Jeremih, and SZA.
Jay also recently finished up the TDE Championship Tour, which saw him out on the road with fellow TDE artists including SZA, ScHoolboy Q, and of course, Kendrick Lamar, stopping in 29 cities across North America.
Jay Rock recently opened up to iHeartRadio about his new album, what it means to him and the inspiring message he hopes his fans will take away from it, overcoming his motorcycle accident, what it was like on the TDE Championship Tour, and more. Read on below.
Tell us about your new album Redemption and where the album title comes from?
"It was fun making the album. Basically, I wanted to show people some more motivation. I got into a real bad accident and it put me in a setback. At the time, I had dropped my last album, 90059, so I felt like I was at this point in my career, I felt like I was up here. I was on my way. And then the situation happened and it was like, dang, you know, I was asking so many questions like what [did] I do wrong? So a lot of the fans were waiting on music, they were waiting on me, so I felt like this was my big 'redemption' to redeem myself and just get back and come back better, bigger and better than ever."
You end the album with your single "Win." What is the message behind that song?
"Where I come from I took a lot of losses. So I felt like at the end of it all, we all trying to win. Who's not trying to win? In life or whatever they're trying to do, whether you're working a nine to five, whether you're playing basketball, football, soccer, we're always trying to win and be successful in life. So that's basically what I want to do, just put some positive energy out there with that record."
You've previously mentioned that you wanted to show more emotion on this album and do something different. How do you think you've achieved that?
"'Redemption,' [is] one of the emotional records [and] 'OSOM' [Out of Sight Out of Mind]. I just want to connect more with the fans. Get people to know me more, and play with my voice. My voice is an instrument, so I just want to experiment with new things, what my voice does, try new melodies, and be more in that type of nature."
When your fans listen to Redemption from beginning to end, what do you want them to take away?
"Basically the whole album is just me overcoming my certain circumstances growing up in my neighborhood, you know what I mean. All my life I've been struggling, so it was just me battling what I want to do with life. I was in the streets, and I had the talent to rap. So, I was just trying to fence on what I wanted to do. I just want people to [know] whatever you wanna do in life, just don't give up on your dreams. Just pursue it and don't give up. Don't give up at all. No matter what the situation is, what might happen, just stay on the positive road and stay focused."
You just finished up the TDE Championship Tour. What was that whole experience like?
"It was a beautiful thing to have all of us on one tour. The fans got to see all of us as a collective to do our thing. It was a beautiful thing from every city, the energy was crazy. Everybody knew all the songs and enjoyed themselves. I had a ball. It was dope."
Do you have a particular memory from that tour or one of the cities that you'll always remember?
"I'm always remember Toronto. Toronto was crazy. That was my first time ever being in Toronto, Canada. I didn't think I was gonna be able to get over there, but they blessed me to be able to come over there. So, the love that I was shown, man, it was a beautiful thing. I enjoyed it."
Looking back on your career, from being signed to TDE, which you were the first one to be signed, to releasing your previous albums, to now releasing Redemption and having gone on this tour, what comes to mind?
"What comes to mind is just growth. I'm just showing people my growth and me becoming a better artist. Everybody knows the history, so I just wanna show more growth. And that's what I want to do on this album, just show my growth, and lyrically, and just experimenting and trying new things."
Photo: Rachel Kaplan