Jay Electronica: Whose Word is This?

A spot opening a Nas disc as a producer isn’t proffered too many times. And the fact that Jay Electronica earned that right on Untitled last year without a proper full length under his belt means one of a few things. Nas has gone crazy – that’s not it, though. It was a fluke or Jay Electro is just really that talented. We’ll go with the last one, I guess. And even if the producer and rapper’s name might hint at some sound that he has nothing to with, it makes him seem like the future of hip hop. Maybe the fact that he’s eschewed going through normal avenues to release music is a part of that.

Having a series of mixes and production credits under his belt, Jay Electro got tapped for an URB feature last year as well, in which Jesse Serwer kinda figures a similar thing. And while all of this points to the emcee eventually releasing something that consumers can touch, it might need to wait a bit if Mos Def get’s what he wants. A few months back, Mighty Mos commented about his ability to battle – and come out on top – if he met with Jay Z or any number of other multi-platinum selling rappers. Just last week, though, the subject was revisited when Mos was out promoting The Ecstatic on Angie Martinez’s show. The on air personality asked the emcee to clarify what he meant. And as Mos began recounting his idea, which includes an enormous charity event, he detailed his rap dream team. While Mos would be the ‘captain,’ as it were, the rest of his crew included Black Thought, Nas, DOOM and Jay Electronica. That’s pretty heavy company. And again considering the fact that Jay Electro hasn’t put out a disc as of yet, it’s all the more astounding.

Of course, your written stuff isn’t gonna translate to freestyles, but since most of what listeners have to judge is in the form of downloadables looking to Style Wars – even if it’s a few years old – seems like as a good a place to start as any. Ignoring the inconsistencies in production – not quality mid you, but the actual fidelity of a track – parts of this work make Jay Electro seem like one of the most adept rappers on the planet. Each track has at least some bit of redeeming quality, even if some of those hooks aren’t too entertaining. But “I Feel Good” ratchets it up even a bit more with couplets like “Step out the crib looking dapper, dapper/Hit the cipher on the corner, then I smack a rapper.” And while that’s not conceptually heavy, hearing that makes one wonder how many times rapper has been rhymed on a track, but not with dapper. The nine minute salvo that ends the disc doesn’t hurt any either. With an ambient approach to production, it’s further proof that Jay Electornica seems more than worthy of the praise that he’s been receiving. Now all we need to do is wait for some more tracks.