Jay Electronica: Don't Believe The Hype?

I knew there was something about Jay Electronica I didn't like. I'm normally not one to fall victim to hype machines, especially with a dude with that wack of a name. I mean, if 10,000 bloggers are calling this cat the Second Coming, and even Nas bigs him up (although he does end up turning the convo on himself), isn't dude the truth? I just didn't realize he was Living With Baduizm. So basically, all of the hype, all of the accolades, are only going to a) go to his head and b) result in him producing an album of epic hype that will probably end up being a big mindfuck/"huh?" to the community as a whole, and he will be destined to collaborate with The Roots and Talib Kweli but never truly realize his own illness.

I know what you're saying: "damn, khal, why you got to be so mean?" I know, I know - I'm not even well versed in dude's music. What I've heard I've been on the fence with - what I like from him, I love, but the shit I don't like, I really don't like. Thing is, when I read performance reviews like these, it's hard to hold out hope for dude. When I read shit like "Jay gets angry and threatens the crowd by saying Mos won’t perform if they don’t listen", I look at neph as more of a confused father, trying to gain some footing, and not an overwhelmingly gifted MC who is trying to connect. How you gonna complain and try and scold niggas when Mos Def isn't even in the fucking building?

Or maybe dude just needs to step his performance game up. Second performance or not, with all of the hype, you would think this nigga was a bit more polished. Time will tell, though.
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6 comments:

jon jon said...

dude, I feel ya, I also feel like cats been hookwiked by his arabic scarves,....fly gear and a pretentious name (Musique Soulchild) don't make you dope, reguardless of who ya new(girl)friends r.

I'm just sayin' ...I was expectin some new shit

Enigmatik said...

He's gonna have to save all that artsy stuff for the artsy hipster crowds...not to say you won't find those neyukas at a Mos concert, but for a newbie in the game such as J.E., the only coversation that the audience wants to hear is the ill spit of bars over beats. I'm legitimately a fan of the dude (I know you're not, Khal...hater...lol) so I hope he doesn't get thrown off by this one mis-step. And drop act II already, damnit.

Anonymous said...

I honestly think it's a combination of him being underneath all his own hype, inexperience, and folks expecting way too much. His backers included. I mean, I've enjoyed a lot of what I've heard from duke so far, but until I'd heard of him going around doing gigs and getting his show legs underneath him, I certainly wouldn't expect him to change anybody's life with a live show. Dope studio shit just does not translate into a dope live show. To me, he's talented, but just as raw and unpolished of a complete MC as some of the kids I went to college with that were trying to get on. Impressive behind the mic or in a cipher, but basura on stage until they started to work at it just as hard as they did writing (the ones that did, anyway).

He might be gassed up, but somebody in his corner needs to tell him to get his fundamentals in check.

-DJ Regular

khal said...

I don't want to come off as a hater, and if I do, that's my bad. Thing is, it just seems like dude has come with so much pre-hype, it's just hard to take it seriously. Some of the best music just kind of comes out of nowhere, but with Jay Elec, it was like "ok Erykah Badu cosigns, Just Blaze cosigns, but he's only had like 3 or 4 tracks bubblin'"... I smell a Lupe Fiasco type of thing. Just something that causes me to question the whole thing.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, Khal, I havent been a big fan, so I can feel where you are coming from. Thats a chance to REALLY get people's attention and from the footage, it just doesnt seem like anything special. Maybe there's more or then again, maybe there's not. Everyone has an off night, I can attest to that, but I have to agree with you, I havent really heard anything from him that I have liked or that I personally feel warrants all of this repeated cosigning that so many have done.

Dart Adams said...

In the immortal words of KRS One:

A dope emcee is a dope emcee! © KRS One

I just think that too many people that either weren't feeling him too hard and saw him all over the internet and in print really expected this dude to float in place on some Criss Angel shit or move objects with his mind. He's an emcee. He rhymes. How the fuck can people get dissapointed because he didn't turn water to wine?

If you had these unattainable expectations beforehand then guess what. He didn't live up to them. You weren't feeling him before? Surprise! You still don't.

First Lupe, then Jay. Ain't no one dude gonna come through and be some magical Hip Hop All Things To All Fans.

SMH.

One.