Jay Electronica gave his the crowd exactly what they came for with his inspiring lyrics and invigorating range of acapella and bass-thumping verses.
On a chilly February night Jay Electronica heated up London’s Jazz Cafe in Camden. His blend of hits and classics was charged with raw emotion, lyrical integrity, and constant messages of love for his family, friends, and supporters.
Jay Electronica is an American rap artist and producer from the state of New Orleans. He is a member of Jay-z’s Roc Nation empire and has recorded two albums, A written testimony and Act II the patents of nobility – The Turn. ‘Testimony’ was nominated best rap album at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Jay also features on Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Album,
We were welcomed with a delightful array of appetisers from Kay Young from Southeast London. Introduced to the Roc Nation family by Jay Electronica himself, Kay Young’s mellow rap vocals over classic hip hop and reggae sounds got the crowd very toasty and eagerly awaiting the main attraction.
Surprising the shell-shocked diners who had pre-booked tables upstairs, Jay began by walking around their tables and rhyming while those on the level below pointed their camera phones up to try and catch a shot of the headliner.
Within minutes Jay Electronica made his way downstairs and through the surging crowd, stopping to say hello to and pray for an attending mother and son before stepping onto the stage. He opened the show with his breakthrough classic ‘Exhibit A’. The room exploded with shouts of Jay’s signature phrase “FACTS” – and waving arms and synchronised head bobbing swept through the supporting massive. The 2012 classic ‘Abracadabra’ soon filled the air with the deep and complex ancient wisdom of ‘Dimethytryptamine’.
Throughout the show, Jay proclaimed his Islamic beliefs, either giving thanks, or reciting passages of the Quran while encouraging universal love regardless of race, religion, or creed. These messages were amplified when mid-show a member of the upstairs crowd gifted him a prayer mat which he received with extensive gratitude and prayers.
He continuously engaged with the crowd from on the stage. On three, if not four occasions he jumped the crowd, leading with various memorable bars that were finished with reciprocated energy by the lucky fans whose space he had gate-crashed.
Jay Electronica displayed a raw sense of both happiness and loss. At one point he led the crowd in a chorus of Happy Birthday to his daughter Mars who was at home thousands of miles away from Camden Town. She answered and appeared very grateful. Later he asked everyone to put their phone lights on. This lit up the dance floor as respects were paid to his deceased loved ones to the words of ‘A.P.I.D.T.A.’ – a song that brought on a ray of emotions.
As the night ended the crowd dispersed home. Many returned to the comfort of their beds having been injected with strong and righteous wordplay decorated with metaphors, similes, and bilingual verses.
Thank you Jay Electronica for a truly energetic, passionate, and reflective show!