Incredible lyrics and on-point rhymes notwithstanding, my almost immediate reaction to finally hearing a legitimately new song from Jay Electronica was to wonder how Prodigy ever scored the coveted feature for what may turn out to be Jay Elec's lead single for his debut album, which many fans have been waiting on for what seems like years now despite him having been signed to Roc Nation for just under a 12 months.
The rapper who was unable to recover from being knocked off course about a decade ago by Jay-Z's Summer Jam sneak attack, Prodigy has made Jay-Z the lyrical object of his scorn ever since, including as recently as in the writings of his autobiography.
So how then did Prodigy manage to secure a verse on the new Jay Electronica song, which was made possible through Roc Nation, Jay-Z's record label?
Let's forget for a second that the actual verse in question is garbage -- the 2011 version of the rapper once self-referred to as Bandana P is now nothing more than a lazy incarnation of his former self.
Is this yet another example of Jay-Z strong-arming a former arch nemesis into doing something -- like when he forced NaS into
If anything, Prodigy and his lackluster lyrics missed his big chance at regaining the relevancy that once had him consistently in the conversation of best rappers from New York. Instead, he delivers an uninspired verse over what I find to be an equally uninspired beat.But it's never been about the music with Jay Elec as much as it's been about the no-nonsense lyrical presence behind his commanding voice that seems to both dance as well as dictate on tracks.
On top of that, he's always had some wild rhyme schemes that keep the listeners wondering where he's taking each line, a breath of fresh air in a genre saturated with the elementary AB-AB rhyme style which was revolutionized in rap a quarter of a century ago.
With all of that going on, as crazy as it sounds, the beat is almost the last thing Jay Electronica fans are checking for when they hear him rhyme. As a result, during live shows he totally personifies the title of emcee -- or MC: mic controller, moving the crowd -- a trait that easily translates to his recordings.
Listen to the track above and you be the judge, but I think, despite Prodigy's appearance, this song bodes well for Jay Elec's future. And that's something I wouldn't have said just a couple of months ago when he was missing in action like what happens to most of Jay-Z's signees eventually.
Hopefully Jay Elec can buck that trend just like he's doing with the prevailing trends in hip-hop.
Lyrics to the song follow:
You know the story…
When Real see Real
We recognize
When you see the steel flash
You petrified
Steve Jobs seen death after just retiring
Takes Vision to Build
God Bless the Dead,
That’s Mac, That’s Pac, That’s Pun, That’s Big.
Shit,
Niggas know the Sunshine Eternal
I burn slow like Disco Inferno
Burn slow like blunts with yayo
I went from Myspace to the top of the food chain
The Sperm hit the Egg like a missle then 9 months later The Celebratory News came
Exhibit C gave the Whole world a mood change
Electronic
Niggas call my album detox
Cause they know I’m finna bring the next chronic
RocNation ColeWorld
Its a wrap nigga
Put yo diamonds in the sky take that nigga
To whom it may concern
If it’s hate
Wait your turn
Dig a crate
Make a urn
Please God tell Flex drop a bomb on me
Tell the Minister to tattoo the Quran on me
before the men in black try to pin a crime on me
and rupert murdock and his goons get to lyin on me
The Lord is my Shepherd
so tell the Royal Family to order my records
And spread em cross europe in a organized method
We could heal the planet with a organized effort
The Jews and the Christians and the Muslims and the buddhist and the Seiks, and scientologists is all of my brethren
Play this on radio
You never heard another nigga say this on the radio
We made it out the ghettio
Brunch with the Rothchilds
Dinner with the Carters
Jay Electstopthepress
Criticalest Artist
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