Jay Electronica A Written Testimony
Jay Electronica has always been something special. His impossibly sparse catalogue and treasured guest appearances have lent the rapper somewhat of a mystical air, making him a reclusive but mighty force in modern hip hop. His standing masterpiece, 2009’s “Exhibit C,” acknowledged as much with startling foresight: “I used to get dizzy spells, and hear a little ring / the voice of an angel telling me my name / telling me that one day I’mma be a great mane.”
Thirteen years after his breakthrough, the rapper delivers on his promise with A Written Testimony. It’s his formal debut, but it feels more like a long-awaited return, as regal and assured as his stately lyricism. Eight out of the ten tracks here feature notably uncredited contributions from Jay-Z, who plays a sharp and uncharacteristically zany foil to the billed MC. It’s astounding to hear Hova play the sideman - in his early ‘10s slump, he was outshined by descendants like Kanye and Drake on their collaborative efforts, but his performances here are nothing short of stunning. It’s just that frontman Jay Electronica is an immensely commanding and scene-stealing presence, his poetry effortless and profound in equal measure. Testimony was reportedly stitched together in 20 days, with the obvious exception of “Shiny Suit Theory,” which was leaked an entire decade ago. It’s remarkable that a debut the world had started to think might never come is so vital and timely, almost like the rapper knew all along when we’d need him most.
The production on Testimony is flawless - it’s handled largely by Electronica himself, with a few key exceptions (Swizz Beatz, The Alchemist, No I.D., and Khruangbin are notable contributors), and the scenery here is just as important as the sermon. Highlight “The Neverending Story” is stripped down to its absolute essentials, Alchemist’s swirling instrumental a playground for the rappers’ twisting philosophy. The scene-setting “Ghost of Soulja Slim” is thrashing and colossal, and closer “A.P.I.D.T.A.” is gorgeous and tender, all supple territory for the album’s brand of lived-in grandeur. Electronica’s flow sits comfortably in the center of it all, textured and knowing.
There’s a thematic chain of biblical doom that holds the album together. Intro “The Overwhelming Event” features a sermon from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who gestures towards the second coming, asserting that black Americans are the “real children of Israel.” Testimony’s centerpiece, “Universal Solider,” opens with a description of the team responsible for dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, a foreboding invocation of the oft-utilized idiom about being doomed to repeat the past. Across the record, Electronica mourns the present but finds calm within scripture, weaving seamlessly into Arabic, Nigerian, and references to the New Testament. His religious convictions pilot the album, but also veer into what radio host Peter Rosenberg called out as anti-Semitism, an accusation very much in line with those commonly directed towards the Nation of Islam. Regardless of Jay’s intention, the anti-Semitic rhetoric is an error in judgment, one that reminds us that even our sagest disciples are human and susceptible to the power of prejudice.
Even in its frequent, other-worldly clarity, A Written Testimony is a very human piece of work. It draws heavily from feelings of fear, sorrow, and regret. On “A.P.I.D.T.A.,” Electronica offers a final benediction: “the flesh we roam this earth in is a blessing, not a promise / I bow with those who bow to the creator and pay homage.” This is the spirit at the core of Testimony - in horribly uncertain times, we all crave wisdom and honesty. Some find those in the word of God; others might find them in the word of Jay Electronica. B+