Grammy-winning rapper and TDE fixture Jay Rock found himself on the wrong side of the legal system Thursday evening after a quick encounter with the Los Angeles Police Department went south. The rapper, who is known as Johnny Reed McKinzie, was arrested when he allegedly tried to run from a stop-and-frisk.
Reports say LAPD officers stopped Jay Rock around 6 P.M. in Los Angeles. What was reportedly a standard encounter escalated when the rapper tried to get out of his car and leave the area. He had been initially stopped for trespassing and public drinking, authorities said, although the situation escalated immediately after he attempted to run away.
Footage soon went online, showing Jay Rock being led away from the scene in cuffs. Compounding the seriousness of the situation, police later said they'd recovered a firearm from inside his vehicle. He was charged on suspicion of felony weapons offenses, a serious legal obstacle for the Watts native.
Timing-wise, the arrest comes right when Jay Rock had just started garnering momentum for new music. He had been dropping buzz for a highly anticipated album in the months preceding this, including snippets and vague social media posts. His last full-length body of work, "Redemption," was well received, and the fans have been waiting for his next release.
While Jay Rock's been busy enjoying his music, he also made headlines recently thanks to his reaction to Kendrick Lamar's surprise track "The Heart Pt. 6." When the song first appeared online, Jay said his response was skeptical, then confused, initially thinking it was an A.I.-generated hoax that he saw trending on Twitter. Once he understood it was real, though, he quickly contacted Kendrick.
"He laid it out, no chaser," Jay Rock said in an interview on Power 106's Brown Bag Morning Show last December. "That's all truths right there. All that he was saying in that record was truth."
Fans were looking forward to new music, but now this latest brush with the law could put a spin on any immediate plans. Felony weapons charges are no joke, and depending on how that legal process goes, Jay Rock may need to work on the case before getting back to music.
Even so, Jay Rock's career has always been built on resilience. From being one of TDE's founding members when the label launched to shining on the King's Dead record that helped usher the label into the mainstream, he's had his ups and downs, but he's managed to keep coming back stronger than before. For now, his backers must wait and see what happens. Whether through his music or personal journey, Jay Rock's story is just beginning.
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