If Jay Electronica, who raps like a cross between a biblical thunderstorm and Nas if he had a doctorate in ancient philosophy, cements his obvious talent, then it’s the power dynamic between the two Jays that makes this debut feel so compelling. When he raps, “The flesh we roam this earth in is a blessing, not a promise,” it’s a vital sermon about the gift of life. It’s a record about persistence and keeping the faith, even when you’re surrounded by darkness. On the lush “The Neverending Story”, he prophetically raps: “What a time we’re living in, just like the scripture says / Earthquakes, fires, and plagues, the resurrection of the dead.” But he sounds much more human than his previous, sometimes holier-than-thou iterations, dissecting the depression that prevented him from releasing an album ( “I spent many nights bent off Woodford, clutching the bowl / stuffing my nose / some of the cons, I suffered for the prose,” he raps on the stirring “Universal Soldier”) in a way that’s endearing. Throughout its swift 40 minutes, Jay Electronica is typically shamanic, breaking down our apocalyptic world with his trademark, slightly eerie, omnipresent wisdom. The fact that Jay Electronica’s debut, A Written Testimony, has finally arrived in March 2020 – at the start of a global pandemic, and with close friend Jay-Z rapping on nearly every track – might sound like a fever dream, but its music is a genuine moment of clarity and thoughtfulness at a time where confusion and chaos is just about everywhere you turn. “An album is a false concept created by corporations as a product to make money,” he told Billboard in 2017, leaving fans to assume he would simply be the best rapper to never release an album. Cole, while rap seemed to became more and more capitalist in its outlook, with artists putting out lengthy yet empty records designed purely to win the streaming numbers game. In his absence, he was surpassed in cultural capital by ascendant artists like Kendrick Lamar and J. His debut album went from being hotly anticipated to the awkward butt of a joke, with years going by without a release.
For rap fans who primarily valued substantive bars, it felt like Jay Electronica could transform mainstream rap, and shift it into a more intellectual direction.īut the artist never looked too comfortable with the idea of fame, nor becoming lyrical rap’s new prodigal son. Two years later and his once-in-a-generation talent was confirmed with the Just Blaze-produced single “ Exhibit C”, a bold, conscious rap anthem where Jay Electronica nonchalantly dismissed his peers as if swatting an irritating fly: “That’s why you talk the tough talk, I never feel you / You sound real good and you play the part well, but the energy you giving off is so unfamiliar.” He could break down Islamic scripture and the brittleness of western civilisation without ever sounding preachy, an emcee capable of making you question the world outside your window. When he broke onto the scene back in 2007, eloquently rapping over quirky beats that sampled Jon Brion’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind score, the New Orleans emcee sounded like a fully-formed philosopher, the antithesis to the Auto-Tune-driven ‘ringtone rap’ that filled the airwaves. Jay Electronica was supposed to liberate hip hop from its excesses.
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