Real Hip-Hop

[Saul Goodman]

Waiting for Peck's review of this.

[InternetApex]

Waiting for Peck's review of this.

I'll have it up shortly. I may be brief depending on how much of this mixtape I can tolerate.

[InternetApex]

Waiting for Peck's review of this.

I'll have it up shortly. I may be brief depending on how much of this mixtape I can tolerate.

It's actually decent. I don't know how many tracks are keepers but it's honest and well-produced. If he were trying to sell it I'd have some other opinions but it's a free mixtape and it's good hip hop. If there's one track on here worth saving for later I'd call it a huge success.

I'm not mad at this at all.

[PenFoe]

In case this interests anyone...

All Of De La Soul's Albums Available For Free Download Today

[ChuckD]

New Jay Electronica release.

https://soundcloud.com/cracktracks504/jay-electronica-better-in-tune

The song was mentioned on the Act II tracklist he released a few years back:

http://pitchfork.com/news/47298-jay-electronica-shares-album-tracklist/

Possible sploosh.

Edit: Well, fuck. Apparently all anyone had to do to get new Jay Elec was ask.

[Tonker]

New Jay Electronica release.

https://soundcloud.com/cracktracks504/jay-electronica-better-in-tune

The song was mentioned on the Act II tracklist he released a few years back:

http://pitchfork.com/news/47298-jay-electronica-shares-album-tracklist/

Possible sploosh.

Edit: Well, fuck. Apparently all anyone had to do to get new Jay Elec was ask.

That's fucking beautiful.

[ChuckD]

New Jay Electronica release.

https://soundcloud.com/cracktracks504/jay-electronica-better-in-tune

The song was mentioned on the Act II tracklist he released a few years back:

http://pitchfork.com/news/47298-jay-electronica-shares-album-tracklist/

Possible sploosh.

Edit: Well, fuck. Apparently all anyone had to do to get new Jay Elec was ask.

That's fucking beautiful.

Indeed. If you like it, you'll probably enjoy Jay's Act I which is produced nearly entirely from samples off Jon Brion's outstanding soundtrack from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

[ChuckD]

While we're on the subject, I thought this was interesting reading:

http://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/blog/the-prestige-the-five-percenters-and-why-jay-electronica-hasnt-released-his-debut-album

Understandably, for anyone with more than a casual interest in hip-hop, Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn) is the Holy Grail. Jay has tweeted on two occasions that the album is complete, once in 2011, and again, with a purposed tracklist, in July 2012. But, with no fixed release date, and a half-decade wait, anticipation for the record has reached both a fever point, and dismissal. Rap fans who believe that artists owe them something, rather than the other way round, have been demanding Jay release his record. But they're slightly missing the point. It is meant to be a Holy Grail.

Let's take into account the two titles for both records – (The Pledge) and (The Turn) – and contextualise them next to this quote from the film, The Prestige. Let Michael Caine explain.

"Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."

If we take the The Prestige theory into account, then Jay Electronica has already released his Pledge. Act I seemed ordinary, built upon a cult film soundtrack, but it wasn't. It was special. Now, with the disappearance of its follow up, he has made "the ordinary something... do something extraordinary", by generating a truckload of hype for something that doesn't exist. Because it's all part of an elaborate magic trick, if we follow the theory, the only way that the record can come out is with the conclusion, The Prestige. Once Act III is released as the culmination of the trick, it is only then, that Act II will make sense, or be discovered.

I think he's probably stretching the analogy a bit, but it's interesting that the album names are each called some different phase of a magic trick and I think it would be incredible if Jay has already released Act II anonymously or under an alias so it gets completely ignored by the people who constantly chug his dong (not excluding myself, here).

Then he could drop Act III and say "Oh, by the way, here's the YouTube link to Act II which I uploaded back in 2012 and has 57 views." The theory sort of falls apart when you consider the track list has Kanye and Jay-Z on it, but a white boy can dream.

[InternetApex]

While we're on the subject, I thought this was interesting reading:

http://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/blog/the-prestige-the-five-percenters-and-why-jay-electronica-hasnt-released-his-debut-album

Understandably, for anyone with more than a casual interest in hip-hop, Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn) is the Holy Grail. Jay has tweeted on two occasions that the album is complete, once in 2011, and again, with a purposed tracklist, in July 2012. But, with no fixed release date, and a half-decade wait, anticipation for the record has reached both a fever point, and dismissal. Rap fans who believe that artists owe them something, rather than the other way round, have been demanding Jay release his record. But they're slightly missing the point. It is meant to be a Holy Grail.

Let's take into account the two titles for both records – (The Pledge) and (The Turn) – and contextualise them next to this quote from the film, The Prestige. Let Michael Caine explain.

"Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."

If we take the The Prestige theory into account, then Jay Electronica has already released his Pledge. Act I seemed ordinary, built upon a cult film soundtrack, but it wasn't. It was special. Now, with the disappearance of its follow up, he has made "the ordinary something... do something extraordinary", by generating a truckload of hype for something that doesn't exist. Because it's all part of an elaborate magic trick, if we follow the theory, the only way that the record can come out is with the conclusion, The Prestige. Once Act III is released as the culmination of the trick, it is only then, that Act II will make sense, or be discovered.

I think he's probably stretching the analogy a bit, but it's interesting that the album names are each called some different phase of a magic trick and I think it would be incredible if Jay has already released Act II anonymously or under an alias so it gets completely ignored by the people who constantly chug his dong (not excluding myself, here).

Then he could drop Act III and say "Oh, by the way, here's the YouTube link to Act II which I uploaded back in 2012 and has 57 views." The theory sort of falls apart when you consider the track list has Kanye and Jay-Z on it, but a white boy can dream.

If he were to pull that off, he would get some consideration for the top spot of MC's all-time. I myself would Stan for him until I passed on. That's quite a bit more interesting and artistic than say, releasing your new album "exclusively" to Samsung phone users. Wouldn't you say?

[ChuckD]

If he were to pull that off, he would get some consideration for the top spot of MC's all-time. I myself would Stan for him until I passed on. That's quite a bit more interesting and artistic than say, releasing your new album "exclusively" to Samsung phone users. Wouldn't you say?

I don't know about "top spot of MC's all-time." If Act II and III are up to par with the material he's released to date then that'd be three legit classics. And if it were to pass that Act II was released to zero fanfare (followed by a year or two of people pissing themselves for a year or two in anticipation of its release) then ... I don't know -- maybe?

It's just a theory. From what I've read/seen/heard, he strikes me as the kind of guy who gives few if any fucks about all of the trappings of being famous. It seems plausible to me that he, more than any other artist I can think of, would (or at least, could) pull it off. He probably got a decent amount of scratch by signing with Rocafella and bangs Erykah Badu on the daily. Why work your ass off to crank out half-baked mixtape after mixtape like everyone else in the game when not releasing music gets you more cred and a wider audience?

[InternetApex]

If he were to pull that off, he would get some consideration for the top spot of MC's all-time. I myself would Stan for him until I passed on. That's quite a bit more interesting and artistic than say, releasing your new album "exclusively" to Samsung phone users. Wouldn't you say?

I don't know about "top spot of MC's all-time." If Act II and III are up to par with the material he's released to date then that'd be three legit classics. And if it were to pass that Act II was released to zero fanfare (followed by a year or two of people pissing themselves for a year or two in anticipation of its release) then ... I don't know -- maybe?

It's just a theory. From what I've read/seen/heard, he strikes me as the kind of guy who gives few if any fucks about all of the trappings of being famous. It seems plausible to me that he, more than any other artist I can think of, would (or at least, could) pull it off. He probably got a decent amount of scratch by signing with Rocafella and bangs Erykah Badu on the daily. Why work your ass off to crank out half-baked mixtape after mixtape like everyone else in the game when not releasing music gets you more cred and a wider audience?

He and Erykah split a long time ago, though they do have a child together. He's currently shacking up with billionaire heiress Kate Rothschild, which explains part of his comfort with surviving minus the spoils that would befit one of the most talented MCs ever to put pen to pad and breath upon recording device.

http://theurbandaily.com/2013/07/07/jay-electronica-and-kate-rothschild-the-illuminati-couple-explained-video/

In which Jay expresses his feelings about his split with Erykah back in 2009:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz0TSAc1y2k

[ChuckD]

http://theurbandaily.com/2013/07/07/jay-electronica-and-kate-rothschild-the-illuminati-couple-explained-video/

WTF did I just watch?

[InternetApex]

http://theurbandaily.com/2013/07/07/jay-electronica-and-kate-rothschild-the-illuminati-couple-explained-video/

WTF did I just watch?

I don't know. I didn't watch. It's just an example of how weird this dude's life is. When I say that he can get promoted toward the pantheon of great MCs if he "pulls this off" I mean that his "prestige" will have to be what we all hope it would be or better. It would need to blow Kendrick's album out of the water. I believe that's possible. But hell B.I.G dropped two albums and people say he's the greatest of all time. People hardly question it. Whenever I think about his short career and want to challenge that notion myself I listen to "Gimme The Loot" or "Kick In The Door" and just kind of shake my head and go with it. With "Exhibit A" and "Exhibit C" already in hand, I'd be willing to pontificate for Jay Elec based on one (1) all-time great album.

[ChuckD]

http://theurbandaily.com/2013/07/07/jay-electronica-and-kate-rothschild-the-illuminati-couple-explained-video/

WTF did I just watch?

I don't know. I didn't watch. It's just an example of how weird this dude's life is. When I say that he can get promoted toward the pantheon of great MCs if he "pulls this off" I mean that his "prestige" will have to be what we all hope it would be or better. It would need to blow Kendrick's album out of the water. I believe that's possible. But hell B.I.G dropped two albums and people say he's the greatest of all time. People hardly question it. Whenever I think about his short career and want to challenge that notion myself I listen to "Gimme The Loot" or "Kick In The Door" and just kind of shake my head and go with it. With "Exhibit A" and "Exhibit C" already in hand, I'd be willing to pontificate for Jay Elec based on one (1) all-time great album.

After thinking about this, I'm reconsidering.

Just looking around online, the "consensus" (if you can call it one) puts Jay-Z, Nas, 2Pac, and BIG among the top 4 with probably Rakim as the 5th. I'd mostly agree with that. Rakim was a bit before my time and I admittedly haven't listened to enough of his catalog to provide a really informed opinion.

I was thinking about this a bit like HOF worthiness but I don't think that's the right lens. The HOF rewards guys with long careers (good portions of which are mediocre as they age but allow them the guy to accumulate counting stats). Fuck Dale Murphy.

Now, if we're talking about greatness in terms of MC-ness, I'd rather have Koufax-like careers -- three classics and nothing else rather than two mediocre albums and five shitty ones. Those five shitty albums that sold 10 million copies off your name alone do me absolutely nothing -- I'm not listening to them, so fuck them.

• Nas (3-4) - gets up here basically off Illmatic alone plus another two for Stillmatic and the under-appreciated Lost Tapes. I could maybe be convinced to give him one more for It Was Written. I don't have any issues putting him up here off Illmatic alone because if we're using the Koufax analogy, it's like going 32-0 with 32 perfectos. Lots of other pretty uninspired stuff to be found in his catalog (not unlike Hov).
• Jay-Z (4) - I'll put him here based off Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, Black Album, and Volume 2 all are solid classics. I don't really listen to much else of his regularly. Maybe the unplugged album he did with The Roots, but that's essentially a greatest hits album. The rest of his catalog is pretty hit or miss. I don't give a fuck how many million units of Blueprint 2, Blueprint 3, and Vol. 3 sold. They were by and large pretty fucking unlistenable and half the verses were by guests.
• Tupac (3) - All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World are indisputable. Throw in the Makaveli album and you got yourself a stew going.
• Big L (2) - Sort of like Biggie. Short career, but the quality/quantity ratio with two classics off two albums released is off the charts.
• Notorious BIG (2) - Ready to Die and Life After Death. Indisputable. If someone wants to put him above Big L, fine, but they're wrong: L had better lines, better flow, and less Diddy.

I'll argue hard for Big L just based off the quality/quantity ratio. He may be a good comp for Electron, actually. Common should probably be in the discussion, too. And others, but then it's not a top 5. Eminem also put out three classics and then a decade of basically garbage. He might bump BIG off my list, actually now that I think about it.

So, I think you're probably right w/re to Electron.

If Jay drops Act II and III... and if they're up to snuff with Act I, Exhibit A, Exhibit C ... he lands somewhere on the list. And, if it turns out that Act II was "in the wild" for a year or two before being announced, it would be fucking legendary status. Crown his ass. But, lot's of ifs in there.

[InternetApex]

Great post. Some reactions:

1. I've always been a KRS-One guy. His contributions to the art form itself can't be ignored, nor can his stature as a philosopher and a live performer (this is a HUGE part of MC'ing, lest we forget). He steered the culture in the right direction against all odds during his reign at the top. I think there need to be more people who Stan for The Teacher, so I'm sticking with this for good or ill. "You can be a mack, a pimp, hustla or playa. Just make sure LIVE you are a dope rhyme-saya."

2. "All Eyez On Me" is fucking garbage. "Strictly 4 My..." is the second best Tupac album hands-down.

3. Big L is that MC that people like to talk about being the all-time great because it makes them sound cool. I love the guy's work but it's kind of a hipster thing to do. He died so you can't prove he wasn't that great. But is he really better than three other guys in his own DITC crew? Lord Finesse, O.C. and A.G. are criminally overlooked. He had potential and personality, sure, but shit. This is like calling Mark Prior the best pitcher ever in my opinion.

4. Eminem fell off musically, if not lyrically after his second album. I haven't bought or listened to shit since the 8-Mile Soundtrack.

5. Common does deserve a look as does Mos Def if we're going that route. Many people will argue for Andre 3000. And somehow Ice Cube never comes up, but he should.