“Win” by Jay Rock
“Win” is a track that Jay Rock dropped when he was just in the process of establishing a name for himself. So perhaps that’s why he felt compelled to reveal one of his nicknames, “Eastside Johnny”, in the intro to the song. But to those in the know, doing so can also be deemed a roundabout way in which Jay is giving a shoutout to his side of the ‘hood in Watts, Los Angeles.
Chorus
Then in the chorus following the intro, what exactly the title alludes to is established. And that is Jay Rock’s relentless pursuit of winning. He then gives listeners a glimpse into what exactly operating as such entails. For instance, the goal is the only thing one’s mind should be fixed on. Therefore if a romantic interest is in the way, then he or she should be cut off.
Verse 1
As for the first verse, initially it is one of those types of raps whereas the word that rhymes at the end of a sentence is repeated a number of times over – a hype-up rap, if you will. And as with the chorus Jay does, albeit briefly, speak to being so focused that he doesn’t have time to be “chasing no b–ch”.
But as for the rest of the verse, it’s your standard rap musician braggadocio, really having nothing to do with the established theme per se. For instance, Rock alludes to being rich and running with a gang of hitters.
He also uses a metaphor in which he is ‘tap dancing on a brick’ which, interpreted using street slang, within the context of this verse would mean he’s a drug dealer. So there really isn’t anything unusual or unique being put forth, except for maybe the last line, in which Jay seems to hint that he bought an expensive car for his “baby mama”. And the reason why such is noteworthy is really because it sorta contradicts what can be interpreted as a f–k-love stance that had already been set.
Verse 2
The second verse commences with the rapper apparently biggin’ up his musical skills but more to the point presenting himself as someone who only deals with serious people, not those “on some funny sh-t”. Jay Rock also, once again, utilizes lingo that can be associated with the drug trade.
And it’s like on one hand, he comes as someone who practices “no violence”. But on the other, his “trigger finger got callus(es)”. So the message is like it wouldn’t be wise to rub him the wrong way.
The rapper also lets it be known that he’s sexually active. And he closes out the verse by noting how he’s come up – or “won”, as put in this particular piece. And according to Jay Rock’s own explanation of this sentiment, of him ‘winning’, it actually represents a high mode of positivity thinking that he was in at the time.
All in all
So conclusively, we get where Jay Rock is coming from. He was trying to drop a rap song that was inspirational in nature, full of the same encouraging exuberance that he was experiencing at the time. However, the final product doesn’t really come off as such. Rather it’s more like he’s playing the quintessential rap role of rich musician / drug dealer.
And it’s like in the 21st century hip-hop landscape, those kinds of tunes always work best when the person making such claims is someone who is already recognized as being rich, famous and maybe even a known gangster.
“Win” Facts
Artist(s): Jay Rock
Album/EP: “Redemption”
Was “Win” a single release?
Yes. It was the second single of the album, “Redemption”. Rock officially dropped it on May 16 of 2018.
Did Jay Rock write “Win”?
The song was written by Rock with assistance from the following:
- Samuels
- Elmer Bernstein
- Duckworth
- Corey Thompson
- Anderson Hernandez
Vinylz, CT and Boi-1da produced the song.
Sampling
Due to its popularity, “Win” has been sampled several times by other artists, including:
- Jered Sanders – “GT” (2018)
- Travis Scott, Don Toliver and Sheck Wes – “Gang Gang” (2019)
