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The Rotunda
Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Jay Rock makes case for one of hip-hop’s finest with “90059”

The race to be the king of hip-hop is intensifying. While poets like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole currently sit atop the list, there could be a new candidate for the crown, and his name is Jay Rock.

One of Jay Rock’s more notable performances is his feature in the song “Money Trees” from Lamar’s 2012 Grammy award-nominated album “good kid, m.A.A.d city.” But a little-known fact about Jay Rock is that Lamar, one of the top figures in the present-day gangsta rap scene, was his hype man before becoming the icon he is today. Lamar has obviously made more of an impact at this point, but that didn’t come without Jay Rock leaving his mark.

A year before “good kid m.A.A.d city” was released, Jay Rock released an album of his own, “Follow Me Home,” featuring jams like “No Joke” and “Hood Gone Love It,” which was included in the video game “Grand Theft Auto V.” “Follow Me Home” was one of the hardest-hitting rap albums of 2011 and four years later, Jay Rock’s sophomore album “90059” is no different.

“90059” was released in a surprise drop on Friday and it is something out of another solar system. The west coast rapper continues to produce hard-hitting thumpers like the album’s title track and “Easy Bake,” featuring guess who, Kendrick Lamar.

A can’t miss is the album’s lead track, “Necessary,” beginning with a piano-heavy head bobbing beat as Jay Rock spews “Nine double-0 five nine be the zip” before transitioning into one of the nicest beats you’ll hear in your lifetime. “I’m straight up out the east side, swangin’ like ziplines on Forgiato rim tires, automatic spit fire,” Jay Rock raps as the cartoony rhythm persists.

Later comes “Gumbo,” one of the album’s smoother songs. A sparkling beat filled with strings and a catchy hook, “Hold up wait a minute, let me put some season on that gumbo.” the lyrics on “Gumbo” are some of the deeper of “90059” along with the lyrics on “Fly on the Wall.”

But the main highlight of “90059” is “Vice City.” Along with fellow Top Dawg Entertainment members Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q and Lamar, Jay Rock is one quarter of the hip hop group Black Hippy, which assembles in full for the song. It is a spacey poetic journey that will absolutely boggle your mind as Ab-Soul rhymes, “I’m more spiritual than lyrical, I’m similar to Eli… Why? ‘Cause I’m wearing black shades and I’m headed west with the word of God,” referring to “The Book of Eli,” starring Denzel Washington. “Vice City” is one of the most abstract, imposing tracks on the album and probably in hip-hop as a whole.

If you appreciate west coast hip-hop, you’ll love “90059.” With its deep lyrics and cerebral beats, this is a can’t-miss for rap lovers. Especially if you are a fan of the Top Dawg Entertainment crew. While the album can get a little too abstract at times, overall, it’s a solid effort that will certainly catapult Jay Rock. How far, though, has yet to be determined.

Grade: B

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