Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has yet again proved that he is a triple threat in the industry – as the professional wrestler quickly became a leading name in Hollywood for his work on the big screen. Now, the versatile A-lister stepped back into the music scene with his recently released single “Face Off” with Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne.
On the heated banger, Johnson delivers an entire guest verse – where he showcases the spit-fire lyrics and his rapping skills. Following the release, the YouTube video garnered over 3.7 million YouTube views and scored high placement on the iTunes songs chart.
While riding the high, the global sensation sat down with Billboard earlier this month (Oct. 13) to chat about his budding music career. “I think the pairing of myself and Tech N9ne, Joey Cool and King Iso from Strange Music, the entire convergence was something that caught people off-guard. There was a unique intrigue and interest as to what we were going to deliver,” shared The Rock during an exclusive interview with Billboard. “And not a lot of people know this, but I’ve been friends with Tech for many, many years now. So I think, when the song hit the streets, it blew a lot of people away. Watching reactions to the song, getting a sense of all the comments across the boards, has been great,” he adds.
The actor-turned musician also confessed that he has close friends in the honky-tonk town and how his recent hip-hop venture encouraged him to ponder future collaboration opportunities in the country music space.
“My love for hip-hop goes back to day one, and I love traditional and outlaw country music,” revealed Johnson about his musical palate. “I may collaborate with some artists in that genre as well. Some of those guys are my friends – like, for example, Jamey Johnson, Mickey Lamantia, Gethen Jenkins. There’s a real authenticity there… Maybe I could pick up my guitar.”
In the interview, the megastar made it clear that he will not rub elbows with an artist unless the project feels authentic and real. In fact, he mentioned that several hitmakers have reached out to collaborate, and he had to turn them down politely.
“The opportunities in the past that have come my way, to rap, to sing, have been great, and a lot of them are [from] my friends, and they’re monster stars in the world of music. I love and respect their music, but those, it just never felt like – it’s got to feel right, and it’s got to feel real. And this did, with Tech,” he concluded.
While opportunities have come and gone, Dwayne Johnson managed to pick the right collaborations to pursue – as he received praise from his voice-over character role in Disney’s Moana. It was his up-tempo positive jam “You’re Welcome” that cracked the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Before he stepped into the star-studded world of Hollywood, he dabbled in music with Wyclef Jean during his pro wrestling days. If you listen to Jean’s 2000 smash hit “It Doesn’t Matter” closely, you will hear Johnson drop some of his fan-favorite catchphrases such as “Do you smell what The Rock is cookin’?”
Until The Rock gets in the studio with some of his country music pals to carefully craft his next chart-topping hit, music-goers can use his latest release “Face Off” on TikTok. The motivating anthem recently scored (Oct. 25) No.1 on the platform’s US Top Tracks list. The fans who are not on social media can pour a glass of Teremana Tequila, which was recently awarded Best New Spirit of The Year.
