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Jay Electronica - Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)
Produced by Jay Electronica & Jon Brion
Every once in a while, artists have appeared with a special indescribable quality that makes them stand out from the crowd. In the age of MySpace, the crowd in question is magnified to the umpteenth degree. Hundreds of thousands of aspiring emcees, producers, singers and musicians patrol the interweb with the sole intent of capturing the attention of potential fans. Consequentially, you need something special to get noticed; good just isn’t good enough anymore. Enter Jay Electronica and his phenomenal debut, Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge).
Unusually, Act 1 is a single 15-minute mp3 file (released via FWMJ’s rappersiknow website), consisting of vocal samples from films, such as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, interspersed between short chorus-less tracks. Act 1 is not only unconventional in its form but most strikingly in its content. Whilst the sampling of film soundtrack is not uncommon in hip-hop, the way in which Electronica goes about it is far from the norm. To quote the first verse of Act 1, “I took Eternal Sunshine and I looped it. No drums, no hook, just new shit.” What Jay is indeed referring to is how various segments of Jon Brion’s soundtrack for the Michel Gondry-directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are simply looped to provide the backdrop to which Jay Electronica rhymes effortlessly. But do not be mistaken. As an emcee JE sounds far from lazy: his flow conjures comparison to Rakim in his prime. And even on tracks with no percussion Jay doesn’t sound off beat.
Brion’s delicate guitar loops, sad string sections and post-apocalyptic piano pieces provide the canvas upon which Electronica paints a short yet significant journey. Whilst the braggadocio that is synonymous with hip-hop is still present -- “You couldn’t be stupider, fucking with the nuclear, Mayan Aztec lion, Asiatic black man from Zion” -- what is most impressive lyrically is how JE displays his intelligence and knowledge without falling into the trap many a "conscious"’ emcee couldn't avoid: preaching. The dividing nature of religion is brought up with, “But what does it mean if I’m a Muslim and you a Jew, and because of that alone we don’t get along” and interesting references are scattered throughout, such as name-dropping dimethyltryptamine, the natural neurotransmitter heavily linked with visualisation of dreams.
In conclusion, Act 1 finds Jay Electronica exploring uncharted territory: enigmatically showering thought-provoking lyrics over quietly powerful music. It's ethereal in its essence! Whilst Just Blaze's and Erykah Badu’s forewords are overly long (and perhaps unnecessary), they are overshadowed by the powerful rhymes that soon follow.
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- Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)
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