As concerts, tours and sporting events continue to be canceled around the globe due to coronavirus concerns, TIDAL is following suit.
On Thursday afternoon (March 12), the company announced the three listening parties scheduled for Jay Electronica’s long-delayed debut album, A Written Testimony, have been canceled.
“At TIDAL, the health and wellbeing of our employees, members, and artist-partners is our top priority,” the statement reads. “Based on the guidance of health officials and the growing impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) around the country, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel all of tonight’s listening events for Jay Electronica’s ‘A Written Testimony.'”
However, TIDAL confirmed the album would still arrive on the streaming service at midnight on Friday (March 13).
“We know the artist and our members were looking forward to this event; we were too,” the statement concluded, “and will be listening to the album along with everyone else once available on TIDAL. Thank you to all our members for their understanding.”
The listening parties for a A Written Testimony were scheduled for Thursday night in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York.
[This article has been updated. The following was published on March 11, 2020.]
The nearly mythical debut album from Jay Electronica is about to become a reality. According to a tweet from TIDAL, the streaming service has coordinated three listening parties for the album — titled A Written Testimony — in New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans.
“It’s time,” the tweet reads. “We’re giving @JayElectronica fans an exclusive first listen of his album ‘A Written Testimony’ with 3 intimate events in NY, LA, & New Orleans.”
Jay teased the project on Twitter last month after nearly 10 years of delays. During a series of tweets, he revealed JAY-Z is on the project and said the album was created over a 40-day period beginning last December.
Jay Electronica Claims His Debut Album Is Done & Dropping In March 2020
A Written Testimony will mark the NOLA-bred MC’s first project since signing with Roc Nation in 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsEO6-IiG14
In an interview with DJ Booth last May, Jay’s engineer Mike Chav addressed his long hiatus.
“Act I went fast,” he said. “That was done in a week. So I think that at any point again, it could go fast. I know it’s completely within the realm of possibility. Maybe people are like, ‘Oh it’s too late for him, he missed his chance.’ But I don’t think he ever really missed his chance, and I think he realizes this, you know?
“He doesn’t care. He just does what he wants to do. And you can’t count him out. I feel like he’s a good example … It may not be the popular example, but there’s young artists that are paying attention and see the value in what he’s doing. It’s not like he’s the first to do this. There have always been a lot of artists who’ve taken long hiatuses and come back and been great.”
The listening parties are all scheduled to take place on Thursday (March 12). Find tickets here.
More Lies, More Lies, More Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeesssssssssssssss.
Shiny Suit Theory is flames.
omg guys…..it’s finally happening. We’re finally going to be able to listen to an overhyped mediocre collection of 3 minute songs. Cheers!
Best rapper to ever bless the mic. Haters, go ahead and cry more. This music wasn’t meant for you anyway
Hahahaha you a funny man you know that right lol
soooooooo… will they stream this live or no… that’s all I want to know
This is already album of the year unless Outkast reunites and drop something…. or Mos Def and Talib come together for another Black star album.
Black Star album produced by Madlib is apparently already done.. lets see if or when it drops. If it is done, I would hope they drop it this year.
There was definitely a time when I would have been very excited about this. Now I don’t really care. I can’t even say for sure whether I’ll end up listening to it.
I’m ready. Homie might deliver. That flow is impeccable. As a hiphop head I welcome it.
New Orleans huh? I seem to remember no one from there ever knowing him or able to vouch for him after he was claiming Magnolia projects in his raps.
Plenty of people come from places and there are those who are supposed to be “in the know” who can’t “vouch” for them. They said the same shit about Special Ed being from Brooklyn back in the day when he came out. 99% of the time it’s the same people who didn’t understand you or your art, they couldn’t get down with it. So when you lived in the city you only dealt with others, usually Whites, who don’t penalize you for being different. I guarantee the majority of people in Nawlins weren’t checking for Jay or his style of rap. He had to go elsewhere. Now after all of that, the BEAUTIFUL thing is that he still reps the city. Even when the city at one point in time didn’t want to support HIM.
He moved from New Orleans at 19 but his family stayed there. This was way before Lil Wayne or cash money.
I’ll believe an album exists once it’s in my phone… until then I’ll consider it detox 1.5
I hope its a album to remember all tight beats no water down shit a masterpiece from beginning to end beats by doom,madlib, alchemist and etc.give us what real hiphop heads deserve
just blaze did exhibit c though!
Too little. Too late.
His first album is a classic in my opinion. His debut studio album will be a classic too. Can’t wait.
You call 15 minutes an album lol
I mean, lets not lie though, it was a great fucking 15 minutes. But as someone said above, I’d be really surprised if most rap fans under the age of 30 remember him. This is the full realization–after waiting 10 years for this album, there’s no way it could possibly live up to expectations.
He may or may not deliver but we won’t know til he drops.(if he drop at all) I won’t believe it til I hear it.
did anyone else just wee a little at the excitement of this??
A little (few years) too late.
Jay Electronica was sooo happy about this mass fear mongering behind a virus less deadly than the Swine Flu. He’s like “thank God! The album wasn’t ready QUITE YET. Just about there, just gotta put a few finishing touches on it, and then I gotta have Dr Dre finish his production on it, and give it his blessing to release to the public” hahahahaha
hahahaha im calling bullshit!! they said they had listening parties to let us think the album was ready, but it never was and they used COVID to call it off…well played Jay!!
I’m buying this album at 12:01 am
Do people younger than 30 even remember who this dude is? I never even knew this was supposed to happen…holy shit this is hilarious. Bro…you missed the bus 10 years ago
It was cancelled cause he has like no fans. No1 wants to spend their time listening to an irrelevant hasbeens music. Get a drake feature or get the fuck out the rap game. Drake got the rap game by the throat.