Arguably, 2007 rookie Jay Electronica was the most talked about
new emcee last year. With his highly praised talent from the industry’s
elite, compounded with his odd-ball personality and elusiveness, at
times Jay seems more like a myth or urban legend than an actual rapper. But after getting some much deserved media press, including the URB Magazine #152 cover which he shared with Erykah Badu (who signed Jay to her Control Freaq
label) we are slowly coming to learn more about one of the most
esteemed new comers to the game, and just how powerful his supporters
are.
URB caught up with rap legend Nas last week and he was reportedly “smitten” once presented with the Jay Electronica issue. He also confirmed that Jay will appear on his upcoming album Nigger, as producer and emcee:
Nas:“He
does him man. I thought that when you get into something you get into
it because you want to represent and do it to the fullest, regardless
if you getting the credit or not. I hear people that think they not
getting the respect they think they deserve, complaining to people
because they not on top. Or blamin’ record companies or blamin’ other
rappers they record with. And you know that happens all the time but
it’s rare that you see someone that’s not asking for a handout, that’s
not looking for a lookout. Someone who came into the business like how
I came. I didn’t come in with a platinum, multi-platinum act in the
middle of the rap world when it was on top. I had a verse in ’91 with a
fairly underground rap group. And it created my buzz and I had to climb
on my own. I would not have accepted me coming into the business any
other way. You know? And today people get superstars to endorse them
and it got a lot easier and they still complainin’. Somebody like Jay
Electronica got their awareness of the same shit, superstars. He’s onto
his own thing and that is everything to him. It doesn’t matter if
people pay attention today. It doesn’t matter when they get it, but
they going to get it.”
URB: And musically?
“He
got that shit where, you know, shit just sound like music. And you can
hear what he’s saying and when he gets into it he goes all the way into
it. He knows there’s an audience out there that can hear what he’s
saying and that’s what he’s been with me in the studio, like fuck that,
they going to know what you mean, they going to know what you saying.”
