After dropping multiple singles over the past several weeks, TDE rapper Jay Rock has officially released the follow up to 2015’s 90059 in the form of his Redemption album – a piece of work which fully embodies his new sonic era, while at the same time staying true to his overall sound and roots. While 90059 was highly successful and is respected throughout the entire hip-hop community, it failed to have the mainstream impact that other label mates have seen with their releases. This is something that Jay Rock has struggled with throughout his career, and he is hoping to change that with his latest release.
From front to back, the album itself is full of bangers that are catchy, smooth, and incorporate both old and new styles. Most of the instrumentals are driven by a trap-inspired sound but have old school and west coast flavorings, seen with the addition of varying smooth sounding instruments over crisp but heavy lower-ends.
Early standouts on Redemption are seen with the hard-hitting opener “The Bloodiest” to the smooth catchy feel on “Rotation 112th.” On the back end the tracks ‘Trooper,” “Broke +-,” and “Redemption” add nice instrumental and lyrical depth to the overall project.
While there is a multitude of features seen across the album, the most notable and memorable is from J. Cole in the track “OSOM,” as it showcases his classic melodic flows paired with abrasive rhymes that surround it. On the track “Wow Freestyle,” the addition of the Kendrick Lamar feature adds a nice touch as it shows both Lamar and Rock rapping about the current situation with their lives. The song has a much-needed light and fun energy as most of the album contains dark, hard-hitting instrumentals surrounded by serious themes.
Compared to 90059, Redemption is a huge step forward for Jay Rock. This album has many instrumental and lyrical layers that were missing on previous projects, adding overall depth and importance to each song. Jay Rock sounds better than ever with his hard-hitting delivery mixed with catchy but meaningful lyrics. The all-star list of features also add solid contributions and elevate a fair amount of the material.
With that said, Redemption is wildly inconsistent in regards to the overall feel and flow with each track on the album as it lacks a bit of cohesiveness. While there are many tracks that are successful, the second and third track on the album titled “For What It’s Worth” and “Knock It Off” add a huge imbalance as they don’t match the overall energy and feel of tracks that are heard later on. In addition, while Rock unquestionably sounds at his best, he maintains the same flow and delivery throughout the entire album as we see almost no variety from track to track.
