
Redemption, more than being Jay’s most definitive statement of purpose and artistry yet, is a record that ultimately finds its power in the life-altering trauma that inspired it. Friendly competition, but all in all, we motivate each other. If ScHoolboy seen something that I did that was dope, it'll make him want to do something to try to top that. Once I see something that Kendrick did that's dope, it makes me want to do something doper. That was the whole goal, you gotta stay hungry. “I mean, shit, what I learned from them is just hard work,” he continues while reflecting on their relationship. We built this thing from the ground up, so why would one of us be bitter one another? That's crazy.” “We can't feel bitter about one another because we all came up together. “We all came up in the kennel together as little puppies,” Jay tells us a few hours before hitting the stage of the Berlin stop of his ‘Redemption’ tour. These representations could’t be further from reality. Since being the very first signee of the then-nascent label Top Dawg Entertainment in 2005, his career has often been characterized as being stalled or grounded in order to make way for the projects of his label mates, a group that includes Kendrick Lamar, SZA, ScHoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul. Few albums last year were as aptly titled as Jay Rock’s Redemption.
