Jay Electronica - Prelude to a Freestyle

prelude to a freestyle. from Jay Electronica on Vimeo.

Not a huge fan of "freestyles" over other's people's beats*, but exceptions must be made.  This is...quietly aggressive.  Jay Electronica has never been shy, but as time goes on, they lyrics seem to be alot sharper.  That album better be dope...you know what Hip-Hop does best: Build you up so we can laugh while you fall.

* I used to love them shits, but they've been SO common and awful in the last few years.

Jay Electronica ft. Tone Treasure - Jazzmatazz

   Jay Electronica - Jazzmatazz (Guru Tribute) f. Tone Treasure by Nothing Can Save You

A tribute the the late legend, Guru
The MLK sample is waaaaaay over the top.  Good song nonetheless.
Play it 2-3 times to catch it all type stuff.

Jay Electronica ft. Jay-Z & The Dream - Shiny Suit Theory

Jay Electronica featuring Jay-Z, The-Dream & Charlotte Gainsbourg - Shiny Suit Theory by Hypetrak

Well that didn't take long.
Very new experience to actually get a new Jay Electronica jam before you expect it.
Maybe having a boss will pay off for all of us.

The two of them actually fit very well on a track together.

Jay Electronica to Roc Nation

 

   Jay Electronica -The Announcement by TempoClash

Of course, the biggest news of the weekend was the semi-surprising and potentially monumental announcement that the underground's favorite, Jay Electronica has signed a deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation Label.

If there's one thing fans of independent music love, its an Art vs. Commerce debate, and this signing should keep EVERYONE in Hip-Hop, from the back-packers to the ballers and everyone in between arguing for the rest of the year.  To me, there's only one aspect of this that merits discussion:  freedom.  Now that he's on a major label, with a major budget, big marketing dollars and the biggest artist co-sign that he could hope for, will Jay Electronica have the freedom to record whatever he's feeling at the moment, or will there be pressure to create hit records?  We've seen Jay-Z leaning towards the more experimental in recent projects.  Is this signing the reflection of those changes?  Is Roc Nation willing to sacrifice sales if it means gaining the reputation of being a home for true artists?  We'll see.

And of course, a new song has come from this union.  Stay tuned for "Shiny Suit Theory" with both Jay's Charlotte Gainsbourg and The Dream.

Jay Electronica ft. Diddy - The Ghost of Christopher Wallace

Here's words you don't hear often:  New Jay Electronica.
The title tells you exactly where this is is going.
Shit bangs.  I don't know who produced this, but I could absolutely hear Biggie tearing this beat apart.  You can almost hear him towards the end of the song while Diddy is doing his Diddy thing.
Have some.

Ski Beatz ft. Jean Grae, Jay Electronica, Joell Ortiz & Mos Def - Prowler 2

Rhymes galore.
Take a second to read that lineup again...
Verses are crazy, but that dull beat keeps this short of the "future classic" potential this song had.
Still dope, though.  Have some.

Random Thoughts #6: King Jay of Leontronica

If you're a regular around here, you know I'm a bit obsessed with the instant Hip-Hop cultural phenomenon that is Jay Electronica.  Not so much the songs themselves (dope as they may be), but people's response to them.  The internet's reaction.  Radio's reaction.  Bloggers' reactions.  Other rappers' reactions.
Anyway...a few weeks ago I said to someone (or posted it as a Facebook status, who knows) that "Jay Electronica is the Animal Collective of Hip-Hop".  What I meant was, much like the connection AnCo has to the indie/alternative scene, Jay Electronica seems to have been crowned as the next, best and brightest among what's new in Hip-Hop.  But to me, the question remained...how much do/did people ACTUALLY like either artist.  Clearly their work is well above average and worthy of...fan-ship...but are they really as great as they've been made out to be?  Much more importantly, does anyone REALLY think they are?  Do we genuinely adore the music, or have we been caught in a storm that requires anyone with an opinion to stand in favor of AnCo and Jay Elec.  I don't know.

But a funny thing has happened in the last few weeks.  Jay Electronica is starting to get spins on mainstream radio (at least in NY, anyway).  He's made a shift.  His status has gone from "Animal Collective" and he's on his way to becoming "Kings of Leon".  What do I mean?  I mean he's authentic enough for underground heads, AND comfortably familiar enough for corporate radio.  It's fascinating.  Blasting off Jay Elec jams on drive-time radio has become a badge of honor for mainstream DJs.  Like some sort of inverse street cred.  DJ are screaming shit like "it's the return of that real Hip-Hop!!", totally ignorinng the fact that they just played 12 Young Money/Drake/Wayne songs in the last 3hrs.  Exhibit C has become a both a coping mechanism for real Hip-Hop DJs who spin bullshit to pay the bills (Enuff, Cipha Sounds) and has given faux-credibility to commercial DJs pretending to give a shit about the music (DJ Clue and damn near anyone else on the radio before midnight).

Regardless of how good Jay Electronica is or isn't, the fact that his music has led to genuine macroscopic evaluations of the culture is a blessing, and I applaud him (and Just Blaze) for what they're building.

Thom Yorke Is Up On That New Shit!

Get this...
Thom Yorke is up in the BBC Radio 1 studios yesterday, and gets into his own live DJ set.
Dope...not unexpected.
What kind of music is he spinnin'?
"soul, hip hop, house, Afro, Latin, dubstep, jazz and beyond."

About midway through the set, what does he hit . . .
Jay Electronica's "Exhibit C".
BAM!  Now your brain is on the floor and your socks have been blown across the room.
Happy Thursday!

DJ Dub x Furious Styles Present: Jay Electronica - Victory

You already know where I stand which part of the fence I sit on when it comes to Jay Electronica.
This mixtape could go a long way in finally pushing me in one direction or the other, and I image it could be useful to a few of you as well.

What we have here is a compilation of JE jams, compiled with the intention of introducing him to the masses properly, as well as a chance to give a little insight to "Exhibit C"* fence-sitters like myself.

Should be interesting...have some.

* I still say that 80% of this song's quality lies in the Just Blaze beat...but whatever (ditto for Exhibit A).  Regardless, how great is it just to have Hip-Hip worth debating about again?

UPDATE: Reflection Eternal ft. Jay Electronica, J. Cole & Mos Def - Just Begun

 I haven't stopped playing this since yesterday.  Crazy.
Now, we have a title for the song and a CDQ version, so...have some

Mos Def & Jay Electronica - Holiday

Just Blaze on them beats.  He let this unfinished song loose during a visit to Shade45 radio yesterday.
(Yes.  Irony.  I get it.)

Reflection Eternal ft. Jay Electronica, J. Cole & Mos Def - Untitled (Radio Rip)

Hear that sound?  It's the Hip-Hop internet exploding.
My goodness, what a lineup.  Have some.

You see, kids?  There's a big difference when 4 emcees get on the same track as opposed to 4 rappers.  Emcees know their verses will be picked apart and dissected by a million nerds like me, so they spit hot shit and feed off the competition from the other 3.  Rappers:  "Whatever.  Our names are on it.  Kids are gonna buy it regardless".  Everybody did their thing on this, Hi-Tek included.

I guess I have to give a Jay Electronica opinion , right (how perfect is the timing of this)?
Good verse.  Still #4 on the track.

Risking My Internet Life . . .

I know my readers are mostly "lurkers", as internet slang goes.
I know within a few hrs, 50 of you will read this, but none of you will comment.
BUT, I honestly and truly need some feedback on this one.

Help me understand the obsessive fan following of Jay Electronica.

I'll pose the same question that I asked ISPS of The Original Winger:

Maybe you can explain to me what it is I'm not getting about the Jay Electronica craze.  He's nice, no doubt.  But for 2yrs, he's been the biggest thing on the "underground" scene literally since Mos and Kweli in like '98.  Perfect example is this song [Exhibit C].  It's been talked about for MONTHS...but its not even on par with throw-away tracks from Joell Ortiz or Joe Budden!  Yes, Jay Elec does his thing, but the cult following is seriously overblown.  I don't get it.

To be SUPER clear, because I know how you JE fans get (I read the JE vs. Lupe boards on OKP):  He's nice.  I efphs with his shit...but not a single song has moved me to the degree that I've even posted it here.  They're all "OK" to me.  No hate.  No diss.  None of that.  I am honestly, and truly curious.  What is the big deal about Jay Electronica?

Sa-Ra ft. Jay Electronica & Ta'Raach - Love Czars II (Remix)

The sounds that come from the minds of Sa-Ra will never cease to amaze me.  I PROMISE, if you don't have their 2 albums, you really are cheating yourself from some incredible music.  Have summa this remix.

Naledge ft. Jay Electronica - Cool Relax

Yadda, yadda, yadda . . .something about how there's the original version and such-and-such-verse was here, but some other verse wasn't. Whatever.

Dope song.
Have some.