Cyrus Langhorne
The hip-hop community is rocking with Jay Electronica. Everyone from Diddy and Royce Da 5'9 have come forward to co-sign the newly released A Written Testimony album.
Big Facts
Over the past few hours, the rap community has jumped on social media with big support. Puff Daddy went as far as to call the LP a hip-hop classic.
“I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ALBUM ALL MY LIFE. I’m proud of my brother Jay Electronica for making such a fearless, beautiful body of work! IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT!!! Shoutout to Hov! Stream #AWrittenTestimony on all platforms. ✊🏿🔥 A MUST LISTEN! #CLASSIC” -Diddy
“Jay Electronica, congrats beloved. May you have all that is for you .
We love you . This sh*t fire… And Water. Rise Young Gods.” -Erykah Badu
“Happy for my brother” -Royce Da 5’9
““The Neverending Story” Jay Electronica & Jay Z produced by The Alchemist.” -Alchemist
“Locked in! Roc Over EveryThing!” -Memphis Bleek
High-Key Details
After years of waiting, Jay Elect came through Thursday night with an initial online listening party and then full release. The project premiered across streaming platform TIDAL.
Well, technically 35 days later, the album is here, although the rollout hasn’t gone exactly according to plan. The listening party for A Written Testimony was canceled due to coronavirus, so the album was livestreamed, which provided its own set of issues. Technical difficulties aside, A Written Testimony is here and features James Blake, Travis Scott, Khruangbin, The-Dream, and so much Jay-Z you’ll wonder if Kanye is sitting on his ranch in Wyoming, jealous of the bond between Jays Z and Electronica. (Vulture)
Wait, There’s More
The project came over 10 years since Jay entered the mainstream music biz spotlight. In 2010, Electronica officially teamed up with music mogul JAY-Z‘s Roc Nation.
A debut studio album from Jay Electronica has been anticipated ever since he emerged with his 2007 mixtape ‘Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)’, and has been promised since he signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in November 2010. (NME)
Before You Go
During a livestream of the album, Jay Elect proved his album has a heavy JAY-Z presence. Young Hov is featured on multiple records including the album intro.
After a brief, string-filled introduction, the first voice on the album — based on the order it was played on the livestream — wasn’t Jay Electronica’s, but Jay Z’s. He was also on the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, and 10th songs. The rumors that it was a joint album weren’t strictly correct — but it’s close. “The most patient man alive,” Electronica said, describing his mentor. “I’m serious,” he insisted, after the room began laughing. (Rolling Stone)
