My voice is an instrument.
— Jay Rock
I want to motivate people because I know how it is, struggling, and coming from a place where you have nothing. So my thing is to motivate people to let them know whatever you put your mind to, or whatever you love to do, then stick with it and don't give up.
At the end of the day, I had to learn that it's all about having fun... na'mean?
What's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. That's how I live my life.
Never give up, because at the end of it all we all trying to win.
The hood always got my back.
A lot of haters been downing me but I never gave up and that's what the fans love.
Growing up in the projects, I've been around music all my life. Marvin Gaye, everything man.
I help my loved ones.
My mother is home. Your mother is your home. Everybody is a momma's boy or a momma's girl. That's where we came from, from a woman's womb. She always gave me good advice because mothers know best at times. She gives me advice and I take it, run with it and share that with somebody else.
When you're a kid, you live carefree. You notice things that go on around you, but you live like a kid with no worries until you get to that certain age where trials and tribulations come and you gotta fight and stay on your toes.
When I was 6, 7 years old, I was raised on all the old-school stuff. My momma used to play oldies in the house. That's all my momma used to play around the house was oldies.
Just make good music.
Everybody knows how hard Jay Rock is.
It's everyone's dream to be on a cover of a magazine - you know what I mean? It's like a dream come true.
I've been working with a lot of different producers.
Like, my whole life I've been right here in this zip code, 90059. Regardless of wherever I go I always end up in the same spot.
I lost a lot of homeboys growing up, a lot of family, at early ages.
If you listen to the old Rock I always had one tone of rapping, but now I'm learning how to stretch out my voice and use it in different ways.
My mom used to always read Bible scriptures to me and constantly say, 'Charity starts at home.' I always kept that in my mind and watched how it came to reality.
I love women. I love 'em to death, but sometimes you have to be careful. Sometimes these women out here play games, too.
Whatever you're trying to do, wherever you're trying to go in life, whatever you got your mindset on, stay there.
Money can make or break you. It just depends on what you make it to be.
When I was about 17 or 18, I would go through my boy's garage and they had a little studio set up. I would just play around there.
I done been to so many funerals.
I remember back in the days my Mom didn't have enough for Thanksgiving.
People planted seeds into me. Older cats gave me the game. My family, especially my mother, gave me the game and I pass it on. That's what it's about. If somebody gives you mental jewelry and you wear it for so long, you want to give it to somebody else for them pass it on.
I wanted Jordans, but I had to get Rugged Outbacks. I had to take it for what it was worth, but now I'm able to give back and it feels real good.
I been around negativity all my life. To do something positive, it's a beautiful thing.
I was one of those young cats and knuckleheads that was hard headed, that didn't listen.
We all knew how talented K.Dot is. We knew how dope he was lyrically.
A lot of people have been sending me beats, I've just been getting it in.
A lot of rappers were influenced off the West Coast, even from the East.
Anything with music, you got to have inspiration. You got to have inspiration to do good music.
I always wanted to do a record called, 'The Three J's,' because you got me, Jay Rock, you got J. Cole, and you got Jay Z. I thought that it would be dope. I said, if I couldn't get Jay Z, we'll get Jay Electronica.
E-40 taught me a long time ago to try different things with my voice, experiment, and only roll with it if it feels right.
Shout out to J. Cole. We come from the same type of struggles. He put the real in his music, I put the real in mine.
I just fell in love with the music, man. The music just took control. It really saved my life.
Don't let nobody try to stop y'all from doing what y'all trying to do man.
My craft's been rising. I'm a student of the game and I'm still growing.
I started writing poetry when I was in the fifth grade, just rhyming in class.
If I could help every ghetto, I would.
I took it upon myself to give back to my 'hood.
From where I come from, it's gutter, dog. I look back on that and I think, 'That's strong.' Without growing up where I came from, I wouldn't be the man I am today, a strong minded individual.
I fell in love with rhyming when I turned 13. I was in junior high. I got into it, but I wasn't serious. It was just for fun.
Starting out in Watts, I can say I really had a love for music.
That's what Watts stand for, it taught me how to survive it taught me how to be a man.
It is teamwork that makes the dream work.
I've been hearing what a lot of people been doing and what a lot of people been putting out musically, I've been listening.
We always hear Compton and Long Beach, but Watts is always overlooked.
