AFTER GETTING RELEASED FROM WARNER BROS., WATTS REPRESENTATIVE JAY ROCK LINKED UP WITH TECH N9NE’S STRANGE MUSIC AND HIT THE ROAD TO MEET HIS FANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HERE, HE REFLECTS ON LEAVING THE STREET LIFE BEHIND AND HITTING THE STUDIO WITH DR. DRE. I hear you linked up with Tech N9ne and Strange Music. That sounds like an interesting collaboration. It’s real good. Shout out to my boy Tech N9ne. I’ve been on the road with him. I just got off the Independent Grind Tour with him, E-40, and Glasses Malone. It was a real good look. They have a completely different style and stage performance from a lot of the rappers that are out today. With your music being more on a gangsta vibe, why did you think Strange Music was a good home for you? Basically, I like the way Tech N9ne vibes with his fans, man. That’s one thing about me, man, at the end of the day it’s about the fans. Being on the road and being in our fans’ faces at every show, that’s a big thing to me. Just being on the road and connecting with the fans was the best thing that could ever happen to me. They’re doing it real big on an independent level. Exactly. They’re one of the biggest independent companies that’s out right now, and that dude’s grind is crazy. We’ve been on that same grind too, so just to hook up with what they already have rolling is a beautiful thing. You were in the Warner Bros system before, right? Yeah, everybody knew my situation over there with Warner Bros. I had a cold record with me, Lil Wayne, and Will.I.Am called “All My Life,” that was one of the hottest records I ever did. Everybody loved it. The label didn’t quite have my back on it like they should have, but I don’t want to knock Warner. I’d like to thank them for giving me the time and the opportunity and the chance to do what I do. But me and my team were just unhappy with the way things were going. Everybody thought I got dropped, but that wasn’t the situation. We went in there and got my walking papers. Now that you’ve seen how the major label system works, being with an independent like Strange Music, how does it compare? 50 // OZONE MAG
I mean, first off, touring. I had like seven deals [offered to me] and no other label could offer me the opportunity to tour as much as Strange Music does. The major labels couldn’t offer me touring and merchandise and things of that nature. When I hooked up with Strange, within a week or two of closing the deal, I was on the road. They’ve got merchandise people, everything. Every day we’d get up and do meet and greets with the fans, and that was crazy to me. They’ve really got it going on, and that’s what I love to do, just being on that road and touring and connecting with the fans. In some of the new cities you visited, were you surprised that the fans already knew your music? Yeah, it was amazing. The type of fans Tech has – for these dudes to know who I was – I was like, wow. At the first show I did “All My Life” and people already knew the lyrics to the song. That was crazy, because I didn’t expect that. People knew who I was and they even more excited than I was. They were like, “I’m so happy for you, man, I always wanted you to sign with Tech N9ne.” That was amazing for them to show me that much love, man. I ain’t even expect it to be like that. They knew who I was; they were familiar with my face and a lot of my records. That was a really big thing for me. So you’re really focused on being on the road and building your buzz up again, or do you have an actual release date or album plans? I’m gonna continue to be on the road doing shows, but I do have a release date of May 17th, 2011. The album is called Follow Me Home and it’s a classic album, straight up. So this was the same album that Warner never released, right? Have you revamped it? Oh yeah, I’ve got a lot of new records. The production is crazy. I’ve got some of my in-house producers plus J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Tha Bizness, Cool & Dre, DJ Quik and a lot more. Hopefully, Lord willing, I’ll have a Dr. Dre track on there. That would be major. How did you get a hold of Dr. Dre? That sounds pretty exclusive. The other day I had the chance to really be in the studio and work with that dude, man, and it was like a dream come true. It was crazy to see the way he works. It was a blessing. I never thought in a million years I’d be in the studio with Dr. Dre. This is a dude that I’ve been growing up with since I was real