Music / gig
Review: Jay Electronica, Exchange
The word enigmatic is misused frequently, but in the case of New-Orleans-born MC, Jay Electronica, the cap fits perfectly. How many artists achieve his kind of longevity without ever having released an album? How many rappers namecheck Nas and Wu Tang in the same breath as Vonnegut, Dostoyevsky and Quetzalcoatl? Which emcees start dropping their best music at the age of 30?
When he unleashed Eternal Sunshine in 2007, a 15-minute beat-free epic, it represented a freshness in an increasingly stagnant hip-hop swamp. Flip forward eight years, however, and the scene is shining. Kendrick is changing the landscape in his own way, the underground is buzzing again; does the game still need Jay? The answer, based on this evening, is an unwavering yes.
As soon as he steps to the stage and drops into the classic Exhibit A, he has the crowd in the palm of his hands. And when he cuts the beat half way through to spit acapella, there’s a reverential hush from the masses, his spoken words harking back to originators like The Last Poets or Gil Scott-Heron. While showcasing some “new shit off Act II” [the painfully long-awaited forthcoming album] he tells the DJ to cut the beat again because: “I take my time writing these rhymes, I want y’all to hear them”. In the hands of another MC (*cough cough* Kanye), this might come across vain or arrogant, but in Jay’s case, you understand.
is needed now More than ever
His lyrics warrant the space to breathe – full of political and biblical imagery, heartache, intelligence, anger and passion. But that’s not to say he can’t start a party, far from it. When he invites everyone up on stage for new track Road to Perdition, or ventures into the crowd himself, the place explodes with energy, Jay slap bang in the centre, a man of people; an affable Christ-like figure with a quick wit and some heavy tunes.
There’s something pure about seeing Jay Elec live, and you feel like this is where he’s happiest; preaching to his disciples, being there. No showboating or grandstanding, he just delivers an incredible and memorable hour of quality hip-hop. Fantastic night.
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
