Got more money than Goodell, a whole NFL benchĭid it one-handed like Odell handcuffed to a jail “Why would I sell out? I’m already rich, don’t make no sense “I could never sell my soul, they sold they soul to me,” he begins the album before breaking down his thought process behind Roc Nation’s NFL deal five songs later. Across two verses on “The Ghost of Soulja Slim” and “Flux Capacitor,” Jay revolts against the idea that he’s become a “sellout.” For so long, Jay’s narrative conflict was internal, as a man at war with himself - his hubris, daddy issues, and fear of commitment - that it’s entertaining to see him use half a Jay Electronica album to essentially battle rap his far less wealthy detractors. On A Written Testimony, Jay can’t help but turn his recent cultural folly into a moment to dig his heels into the sand. At the time, Jay’s latest business venture was rightfully seen as hypocritical after the rapper spent the majority of the rollout for 2017’s 4:44, supporting Colin Kaepernick, only to partner with the same organization that still refuses to hire him. This is a version of Jay with some points to make, and he sounds more defiant than he has in ages.Įver since Jay-Z’s Roc Nation became the NFL’s “live music entertainment strategist” in August 2019, the rapper/mogul has been on the defensive. In fairness to all involved, if you’re going to call A Written Testimony a Jay Z album, it’s important to note that it’s a very good Jay Z album, in part because he came to this album ready to defend himself. J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A March 17, 2020 may Allah bless your career as a journalist. “The caliber of rapping that’s on ‘Exhibit C’ is not exhibited here.” Then Jay and Joe’s beef transitioned to social media. Joe Budden - part-time podcast provocateur, full-time retired rapper - entered the fray to take a few shots at how Jay Z-heavy A Written Testimony was. “As a rapper, I’m telling you he got smacked around,” Budden said on the latest episode of The Joe Budden Podcast.
Predictably, Electronica spent the better part of his weekend basking in praise and defending himself against criticism. If you starve a fandom long enough, even a loaf of bread (as good as that bread may sound) can seem like manna. Across A Written Testimony, Jay-Z turns in enough bars, verses, and outros to make a convincing argument that Electronica’s new project is something like Jay’s 14th studio album or, at least, his sixth collaborative one. Instead, the scripture delivered from the Roc Nation perch on high comes from Hotep Hov. Yet, the first Jay listeners hear on Electronica’s debut is not Electronica. Last Friday, Jay Electronica finally released his debut album - it came after a decade of rap bloggers hailing “Exhibit C” as the second coming (of what, no one is quite sure). As a pandemic besieges the globe, hip-hop fans are the only group asking the important questions: Did Jay-Z wash Jay Electronica on the latter’s debut album?
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