Grammy-winning rapper Jay Rock, famed for his collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, was arrested this week. The 39-year-old artist was taken into custody by Los Angeles Police Department officers in the Watts area on Thursday at around 6 PM.
Born Johnny Reed McKinzie III, the LA native was apprehended on a felony weapons charge. He was initially found trespassing and drinking in public near the Nickerson Gardens housing complex. In an attempt to evade capture, he dashed away from his vehicle but was soon apprehended by the officers. A search of his vehicle uncovered a firearm, leading to his booking into a Los Angeles jail on charges of felony possession. He was held overnight after being booked just after 8 PM.
According to reports, McKinzie has ties to the housing complex, having grown up there alongside Top Dawg Entertainment founder Anthony Tiffith.
This isn’t Jay Rock’s first encounter with the law. He was previously arrested in 2009 in connection with a shooting in his neighborhood but was later exonerated. Additionally, he survived a serious motorcycle accident in 2016 that left him with a shattered pelvis and leg. Reflecting on that incident, he stated to Billboard, “I was just doing what real dudes do. I was on my bike. Accidents happen,” and credited his recovery to divine protection, saying, “It took me a couple weeks to get back out here ’cause you know, you can’t bring a strong one down.”
The impact of the accident is also featured in the title track of his 2018 album, “Redemption,” which includes collaborations with artists like SZA, Kendrick Lamar, Future, J. Cole, and Jeremih. In promoting the album, he shared how music transformed his life, explaining, “I was speaking on my experience, my trials and tribulations in the hood when I started rapping. The hood was always bringing me back and I was doing bulls**t. I just fell in love with the music, man. The music just took control. It really saved my life.”
Jay Rock is also a founding member of the hip-hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside fellow West Coast rappers Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar, and ScHoolboy Q, all of whom signed to Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Although the group has not released new music together in recent years following Lamar’s departure from TDE, the members continue to collaborate on solo projects. They reunited for a special concert titled ‘The Pop-Out: Ken and Friends’ in June 2024, celebrating Juneteenth and Black Music Month.
Amid rumors surrounding a potential TDE breakup following Lamar’s exit from the label in 2022, Jay Rock addressed these speculations in a 2023 interview with DJ Whoo Kid, clarifying, “We all good, though. The family, TDE family, despite what everybody’s saying — the breakup — everybody’s all good.” He emphasized his enduring bond with Kendrick Lamar, noting, “That’s my little brother. Ain’t nothing changed.”
Jay Rock has collaborated frequently with Kendrick Lamar on tracks like “Money Trees,” “Hood Gonna Love It,” and “King’s Dead,” the latter of which featured on the Black Panther soundtrack and won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019. He also joined forces with Anderson. Paak for “Lockdown” and made headlines for participating in protests against the death of George Floyd.