In between his performances on All 6’s and 7’s – The Tour, Jay Rock was able to talk to us about the music video for “Hood Gone Love It”, the lead single from his debut album Follow Me Home.

Jay Rock spoke on the concept of the video, heralding it as a back-to-the-basics and no-nonsense approach to bringing visuals to the song:

“There aint no green screen champ! You can tell it’s all real: real people, real places, real scenery, you know? Certain videos have a green screen but this aint no green screen or none of that. It’s real people right here and that’s what I like about it. It’s basically everybody coming out and showing their love and support. I appreciate everybody that came out to do that, from my neighborhood and from other neighborhoods. They could’ve been doing something else on that day but they came out to show love to Jay Rock and I’m very blessed and thankful for that. It was like a feeling no other.”

Jay Rock is one of Watt’s celebration stories, one that has made it past the street life into a life of success despite any obstacle. This is a reason to come together for those of all ages, who showed up in droves to support Jay in the music video:

“In my neighborhood we’re all family, from one-year-old to 50-year-olds, we’re all family. We all come together as one, we’re united in the community. My brothers and sisters, we don’t have teh same mama and daddy but we stay in the same area. We neighbors so we gotta become family.”

Of course, success always comes with its fair share of naysayers, but high-spirited Jay Rock puts this aside:

“Everybody’s been hated on in their life but I try not to think about the negative, I’m always thinking positive. I’m always in good spirits. I don’t let that distract me or my focus. I’m focused right now and I’ve got a job to do so I can’t let stuff like that knock me off track.”

Follow Me Home hits the stores and online on July 26.

Stay tuned for more from Watts’ Finest.