Last night I made my way to my first hip-hop show in basically a year. And not out of love for Mos Def like everyone there, but really out of respect for my man Jay Electronica, and even more so, curiosity for how he would approach this monumental jump off. Monumental since Jay has never really had a live show, has no album out, and somehow landed himself as the opening act for Mos Def in the middle of Times Square. Dude is dating Badu, is on the new Nas album, and is Just Blaze's protege, all in a year. I would like to see anyone do that much with their career in 12 months.
So...Jay begins, crappy hype man aside, abstract visuals behind him, Just on the 1s and 2s, and drops into that ol poetic Electronica, exactly what I expected--nothing bumping, nothing that has that Sex Love & Money swagger. And suddenly people were talking during the set, uninterested, unable to attune to what he was putting out.
He made the mistake of making some incoherent threats about Mos not coming out if people didn't listen to him, and that was it. He was close to being booed off stage, and left throwing down the mic. Completely disappointing...and I mean, for him, not for me. And I left thinking: Is this going to destroy the castle he has just built so quickly, letting the hardest critics in hip-hop (NYC) drive him off his first live performance?
The only answer I could come up with: NO WAY. This just built some sort of otherworldly drive in this cat. WATCH.
Here is a report on the show from a clear Mos fan who didn't know Jay. And one from a die-hard Jay fan who was still pissed. And for you comprehensive readers, the long okayplayer discussion which is pretty on point.
I'm reposting Jay tracks for all you haters. This guy is a genius, and if you don't get it, stay waiting for Mos Def to release his next movie with Marky Mark while this guy levitates in space. Listen to the whole Eternal Sunshine with Badu and Just. It's called a work of art, not a song.
JAY ELECTRONICA - SAN PELLEGRINO W LEMON
JAY ELECTRONICA - DEPARTURE
JAY ELECTRONICA - ETERNAL SUNSHINE
JAY ELECTRONICA - BITCHES & DRUGS (PROD J DILLA)
Monday, March 31, 2008
Midnight Rant: A Sad Night In The Apple
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3 comments:
Please remove the unauthorized use of my photo and delete it from your outside host. If you would like to use my photos, at least link them directly from my site with a proper caption (Photo courtesy of Brett Mickelson, with my name being a link to my blog) and ask my permission first. Thanks.
That said, I appreciate your review of the show, and thanks for referencing my post in doing so. The one thing I will say in response to "Is this going to destroy the castle he has just built so quickly, letting the hardest critics in hip-hop (NYC) drive him off his first live performance?" is that the type of crowd you find in Times Square is generally not going to be the type of crowd that will bury a career.
You got it.
Brett is a fucking dork.
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