Jay Rock - 90059 (2015)

It's been nearly ten months since Jay Rock released the outstanding single "Parental Advisory" on soundcloud. Since then, I've been waiting patiently and anxiously for Rock's album, which has been a long time coming. In 2011, he released the poppy Follow Me Home, which featured the decently popular "All My Life (In the Ghetto)". Though it's fun to hear Rock and Lil Wayne exchange bars in the song's second half, there's something about Rock's aggression and conviction bubbling under that deserves something bigger.

That "something bigger" came in the form of a feature on Kendrick Lamar's "Money Trees", from the modern classic good kid m.A.A.d city. There is no doubt in my mind that Jay Rock had the best feature on the album - hell, he might have had the best verse. Though he has less than a minute on the whole album, he is simply unforgettable. There's hunger and reality in his voice that makes the listener know that his verse was twenty-some years in the making. It's his life he's spitting about.

So with only "Money Trees" and "Parental Advisory", I was beyond excited for Jay Rock's album. Now that it's out, what do I think?

It's good. But it's not great. 90059, named after Rock's zip-code, is distinctly west coast. It's an immersive album that starts strong with "Necessary", which is also unfortunately the album's dirtiest track. What follows is something that's surprisingly clean, beat-wise. There's a laid-backness that Rock sounds good on (exhibit A: "Gumbo"), but it's not what Rock does best. 90059 unfortunately lacks the grit that "Parental Advisory" had. In fact, "Parental Advisory" is undeservedly not even on the album.

Don't get me wrong, I like 90059. But it's not as great as it could be. Consider the song "Vice City", which features the Black Hippy rap collective. Even though it features Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q, the song is an awkward amalgamation of weird sounds and ad-libs about booty. It's wasted talent.

Also, look at the scratched out fingerprints on the album cover's hand. I like to think it means Jay Rock has yet to find his true identity as a rapper. He's one of the lower-selling artists on Top Dawg Entertainment, but I think he would sell more if he found a sound for himself that's more unique. 90059 feels like an album I have heard before. Though it's been four years since his last album, I don't think Rock has found himself quite yet. I'm willing to wait four more years though if that means Rock finds himself working on songs that are grittier and more aggressive - like "Parental Advisory". Rock should not spend the rest of his career resting in the shade of "Money Trees".

Stand-out tracks include "Necessary", "Easy Bake", "Gumbo", and "The Message". SZA's crooning on "Easy Bake" is outstanding, and I enjoyed Busta Rhymes on "Fly on the Wall", choosing a style other than going Twista fast.

6.5/10