
Apparently, this song was already released as a loose single back in 2017 and I’m not sure why it ever was, to be completely honest.ġ1. I get that he’s trying to catch an eerie vibe with the minimal beat, but it just comes off as goofy and incoherent. What is going here? He sings like a robot being smothered with a pillow. Although those vocal lines LaTonya Givens sang at the end are pretty sweet.ġ0. He’s always emphasizing that he’s at a higher level of consciousness and his level of insight requires a degree of self-awareness that most people don’t appear to have, but he doesn’t actually take steps to help his fans reach that level of understanding he claims he’s on. My biggest issue with Jay in the past is that he spends a lot of his song thinking and observing what’s going on in the world, but doesn’t really comes to any significant conclusions in his songs. Better in Tune – I enjoy the sampled clips, but I’m not sure if they reinforce what Jay Electronica is trying to say on the record. I like the piano and the sad tone of the song.ĩ. I think he’s talking about a past relationship. Memories & Merlot – Lyrics are pretty reflective, as they keep being with Jay. Thematically it also ties into the rest of the album pretty well.Ĩ.

Both Jay and Hov body the beat with ease. Shiny Suit Theory – This was a cut officially released already on A Written Testimony, but in the context of this tracklist, it’s definitely one of the better cuts. But if this was supposed to be on the official tracklist, I don’t really see how it fits sonically.ħ. Dinner at Tiffany’s – Am I listening to a Jay Electronica album or the Frozen soundtrack? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty song with some sweet performances. Overall the song sounds like a cut off of Act I: Eternal Sunshine. He’s known to be a very spiritual law of attraction believing type of guy. The choice of samples and instrumentals to me make sense, given Jay Elect’s taste in dusty samples. Memories of Rush Hour flash as I hear the instrumental. No doubt, Chance is definitely influenced by Jay Electronica.ĥ. It sounds like a Chance the Rapper cut but with Jay Electronica over it instead, which works perfectly fine. I like Jay Electronica’s flow and the beat. Life on Mars – LaTonya Givens’s feature sounds great on the track. I really hate that stock children chorus sound.Ĥ. Patents of Nobility – It sounded like he hit up Madlib for a few loops to use for the sampler. Jay’s bars are as lyrical miracle as ever (“we the new illuminati, fuck Bill O’Riley and Rudy Giuliani”), though his double entendres in his verses are pretty clever and the wordplay is really skillful.ģ. I could definitely hear Kanye rapping over this as well. New Illuminati (Sans Kanye’s Verse) – The mix sucks. His bars are really observant and the themes are as spiritual as ever.
Thankfully, Jay sounds grateful, calm and reflective on where he’s at. Those stock children chorus hits bothered me a lot on a Written Testimony, and they sound even sillier on here. Real Magic – Ronald Reagan sample opens the record up. But these songs are clearly crumbs that Jay Electronica left for the birds. But, that’s not to say there aren’t highlights and great bars on this record, which at this point is all fans are even asking for. Act II is really here, and now that I’ve finally been able to listen to it as it’s supposed to be, it’s not very good. Now that it’s an official Roc Nation release, I guess this is the record that he has now wanted to present to the world. Overall: I originally thought this was only a leak and that it wouldn’t represent what Jay Electronica wanted to communicate through his project. The album was sold for only $9k, only for it to be subsequently leaked to the general public. So, they offered $9k for the tracks off of the tracklist that Jay released years prior, regardless of how they sound or of any preconditions regarding the quality of the record.

They needed Act II and they needed it today. Here we are, ten years of sporadic features and a debut album with his mans later, the Jay Electronica Stans just couldn’t take it anymore.
#Jay electronica patents of nobility full#
His epic Rock Nation Announcement was then followed by a self-imposed ten year long full length oath of silence, only to be broken because his boss told him he had 40 days and 40 nights to physically manifest an album onto streaming platforms. The earth-shattering response of Act I: Eternal Sunshine and Exhibits A & C basically turned him into a rap legend. His debut tape Style Wars blew up on Myspace in 2008. These past 12 years of following Jay Electronica were wild. I never thought I’d ever see the day that Act II: Patents of Nobility ever reached the public’s ears. I’ve waited 10 entire years to hear this album.
