19. Jay Electronica - “Road To Perdition”
Anybody who has followed this site long enough (*crickets*) will know that I have been waiting for Jay Electronica’s first full length for close to a decade. So much time has passed now that I don’t even really expect it to be released anymore. It’s probably a coping mechanism of sorts, but I’ve been disappointed and led on so many times that I’ve come to assume that it’ll never happen. As a result, now whenever he releases something it’s an unexpected and pleasant surprise, because rather than being frustrated that it’s not his album I’m simply pleased that he’s released anything at all.
However the quality of this jam was enough to pierce my forced facade, breathing new life into my repressed hopes and dreams to stoke the flame of anticipation that I’ve been trying snuff out. It’s a reminder that his impending full length will be a force to be reckoned with, and a reassurance that the years of publicity and relative silence haven’t dulled his edge or corrupted the pristine vision that he began with. If anything the years of preparation have allowed him to hone and develop his already impressive skills. His chops are on display here, with wordplay as witty and anecdotal as when he first begun, only now it’s tempered in experience and coated in confidence. His vocabulary of course is second to none - stretching beyond any sort of constraints to seamlessly weave together disparate themes and subjects into a cohesive whole. It’s a style that sets him apart from his contemporaries, at once heady and unassuming, methodical yet divergent, and placing him in a league of his own. It’s a thing of beauty to bear witness to, and easily puts to shame the majority of young artists dominating the game today.
He’s the eccentric artist that dominates their craft without conforming to the constraints placed upon the craft. It’s fitting, because Jay Electronica is a paradox of sorts. He has infinite skill yet next to no releases. He has a steadfast braggadocio but veils it in equally steadfast modesty. He has hype but tempers it with patience. He’s possesses and a modern mind. He’s a haphazard perfectionist with a mechanically sharp intellect that he then scatters in evasive artistry. He’s a demonstrative poet plodding along incisive yet indecisive. It’s a mass of beautiful and redeeming contradictions, and as frustrating as his unconventional trajectory can be, I can’t help but appreciate it. In a world too often inundated with the garbage, half-assed releases of ephemeral artists, Jay shatters the status quo. He’s a true artist, a perfectionist who only releases tracks of substance. Each track is a work of art. He’s poured his soul into each and everyone, and at the end of the day can walk away proud of every single thing he’s released. The glory doesn’t only lie in the end to him, but in the means that led to the end. It’s the classic quality versus quantity argument, which is really no argument at all when it comes to art. Quality will always win out, because quality is lasting. He’s spent years constructing his magnum opus, staying focused and true to himself despite the expectations and outside forces pushing him around and holding him down. It’s a remarkable feat that I can’t help but admire. I’m a believer. My faith may have been tested, but it hasn’t been broken. I’ll continue to patiently wait, because if anybody can create an album worthy of a decade worth of preparation it’s him.
