Review Summary: Jay Rock is the underdog of Black Hippy, because He won't leave his comfort zone
Jay Rock is that guy who stands awkwardly next to Kendrick Lamar in an interview. I can't help but feel sorry for him because the interview is clearly focussed on Lamar. Jay Rock is from Watts California and a member of the Black Hippy Crew, along with Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, and of course Kendrick Lamar. What separates Rock from the other members is that, he is not spectacularly interesting. As a result neither is Follow me Home, his debut on Tech N9ne's Strange Music label.
The fact that Follow me Home is released on Strange Music is ironic because Jay Rock's music could not be more formulaic and ordinary. It has songs about Rock's past growing up in Watts , but everything he has to say has nothing to do with him personally it is all general stereotypes about the West Coast . There are songs about women,but painful lyrical mishaps turn these into songs to be skipped. Then there are the songs that are filler .... and then there are the songs you will actually want to listen to.
Jay Rock has lyrical fuck ups that make decent songs not worth listening to. In ''Boomerang'' he raps '' she got that wet wet , I'm talking Niagra Falls'',and if the comparison isn't awkward enough he holds on the syllable in a Kanye like manner, to get rid of any chance of missing what he has just said. Rock seems to have a problem with writing because he uses the rhyme ''gutter,gutter,butter,butter'' more than once and the tracks are not even far from each other chronologically.
Rock is unable to keep things interesting for the full hour and ten minute running time of this album. Instead the songs worth listening to are better listened to individually. For example ''Hood Gone Love it'', has a catchy chorus, addictive production and to top it off an excellent verse from Kendrick Lamar. Another song that stands out is ''I'm Thuggin'' because of the well placed horns under a booming bass and the hook that sounds like it came straight out of the south. Of course any appearance of Black Hippy as a full team results in success like ''Say Wassup''.
Jay Rock needs to leave his comfort zone, if he wants to get past his status as the guy who stands next to Kendrick Lamar, or the guy who Tech N9ne signed. As of right now Jay Rock is the only rapper to come out of Black Hippy to have nothing unique to keep interest. His songs are better used in a playlist next to something more consistent.
