Expectations can be cruel. The majority of music listeners discovered California rapper Jay Rock via his dominant verse on good kid, m.A.A.d city‘s “Money Trees”. When you manage to steal one of – if not the – best verses on a major Kendrick Lamar statement, needless to say, serious hype comes with it.
Alas, TDE fumbled the ball. For whatever reason, they kept Rock at the sidelines for damn near three years before releasing 2015’s 90059. He still had his core following, but the big “moment” had sadly passed. 2018’s Redemption, despite being a solid project, faired no better.
Understandably, then, he’s taken his time with his fourth album. That wait seems just about up. Having released the in-character “Eastside” with Kal Banx (who you may know from his work on J. Cole’s Dreamville compilation, Revenge of the Dreamers III, but it was in fact Rock who introduced Banx to Cole) earlier this year, Rock has returned with “Too Fast (Pull Over)”, the untitled project’s shot at a summer jam.
It’s a damn good one, at that. This time around, we can only hope, TDE seems to be playing things right for Rock, giving the album a proper rollout.
What’s more, “Too Fast (Pull Over)” feels properly plugged into the moment. The song itself is a raucous summer vibe, produced by latter-day West Coast staple Mustard. Granted, Anderson .Paak has grown to be a nearly ubiquitous feature since his Compton days, but he gives it his all here, full of charm and presence. The still rising Latto is also a key ingredient, making her presence known with a fiery verse.
Check out what the three got up to below, and stay tuned for more information regarding Jay Rock’s approaching album as soon as it becomes available.
