Jay Electronica performs at the Santos Party House CMJ takeover -- Photo by Scott Heins
Photo Credit: Scott Heins for Okayplayer
Is this The Twilight Zone?
A day after Frank Ocean teases a July release date for his long-awaited album Boys Don't Cry, Jay Electronica is hinting at releasing new music as well.
"to all those who have been patient with me and supported me over the years, thank you," he tweeted on Sunday morning. "And get #Tidal #AreYouWatchingClosely?"
Before that message, Jay Elec revisited the three-act process of a magic trick. "The first part is called #ThePledge.The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a M A N. 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," he tweeted.
"The 2nd Act is called #TheTurn. This is where #TheMagician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something EXTRAORDINARY."
Longtime Jay Electronica fans don't need the reminder. His breakthrough EP/mixtape in 2007 was entitled Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), and featured clips from the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, interviews with Erykah Badu and Just Blaze, and mind-blowing songs like the title track and "Voodoo Man."
He had initially promised that he would release the full-length album Act II: Patients of Nobility (The Turn) around Christmas 2007. He didn't release the album, but he released the critically-acclaimed, Just Blaze-produced "Exhibit C" and "Exhibit A" and signed to Roc Nation in 2010.
Since then, fans have only gotten scattered loosies like "Dear Moleskine," the Jay Z-featured "The Shiny Suit Theory," and "Better In Tune With The Infinite," and unpredictable guest appearances on songs with the likes of Talib Kweli, Mac Miller and Big Sean. Previous promises for the album to come out gone unfulfilled, but many of his fans have remained loyal, praising him as one of the best lyricists out there.
With his tweets recounting the acts of a magic trick, it appears that this album may indeed be Act II - not a completely different album, which Dr. Dre released with Compton after scrapping the mythical, long-awaited Detox. Many may be upset about the album being a Tidal exclusive, but after waiting for so long, why should he release it in any way other than what he sees fit?
Here's hoping that Jay Electronica follows through and drops what fans have wanted for so long.
