Erykah Badu, Nas and Talib Kweli Speak on Jay Electronica
With Drake and Nicki Minaj now signed and readying to release debut LPs, Jay Electronica is arguably hip-hop's hottest free agent.
A rookie by no means, he's been cultivating a rapidly growing fan base through mixtapes for quite some time. High off his guest appearance on Reflection Eternal's "Just Begun" alongside Mos Def and J. Cole, his own "Exhibit C" produced by Just Blaze and the recently released "The Ghost of Christopher Wallace" featuring Diddy, his stock is presently at an all time high.
Still, though he owes Decon Records a project, Jay Elect is essentially a free agent. As the world impatiently awaits his freshman LP, three of his biggest cosigners sang his praise to BET.com.
Jay Electronica is a free agent, but Control Freaq Records is a label that allows artists to use its and my brand, Erykah Badu’s platform to move in the direction that they wanna move in," Badu told BET.com. "So my label is not a binding contract, but it’s another statement and our statement is freeing the slaves from the slave masters, meaning the music slaves from the masters, they convert back to the artists. They belong to them, so that’s what Control Freaq Records is about and yea, he’s a part of that movement.
Jay's made such an impression on Nas that the Queens MC had him produce "Queens Get the Money" on his 2008 "Untitled" album.
I like Jay Electronica," Nas offered. "He seems to be a little bit older than a lot of the new guys so he’s gon come with a lot more information. Where his head’s at is in a great place and the music that he’s making is gon bring a lot to the table, a lot of good energy.
Talib Kweli shared Nas' sentiment.
Jay Electronica is the truth," Kweli exclaimed. "He reminds me of how emceeing should sound. He represents the style and the culture of hip-hop, but he also represents how much hip-hop has grown because he’s not from New York, he’s not from the East Coast, he’s from New Orleans, he’s from the south so you hear the themes, the energy and the passion for the south, but you also hear the respect he has for the culture."
