Jay Rock Biography

Johnny Reed McKinzie, Jr., (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor from Watts, California. Rock ultimately chose to pursue a career as a rapper over a life of street crime, after Anthony Tiffith, the founder and CEO of the independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), found Rock in 2005 and signed him to his label. In 2007, alongside TDE, Rock secured a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records and later Asylum Records, but after both mergers fell through, the label signed with Strange Music, after Tech N9ne, Missouri-based rapper and founder of the label, met with them and offered Rock a record deal.