Jay Electronica doesn’t drop music very often, but when he does, the New Orleans MC packs more than hot rhymes into his tracks: He also teaches a lesson or two. Take his recent pairing alongside Roc Nation boss Jay Z on their “We Made It” freestyle. Here’s what we learned:
1. Hov Didn’t Appreciate Drake’s Rolling Stone Interview
Remember when Drake criticized Jay Z for his art-inspired raps in Rolling Stone? Yeah, Hov didn’t forget either, and he throws a line to the OVO spitter. “Sorry Mr. Drizzy for so much art talk/ Silly me rappin’ ’bout sh– that I bought,” Jigga raps.
2. He Also Reminds Drizzy That He’s On Another Level
When Jay Z sold Roc-A-Fella to Def Jam, the business-savvy MC was able to retain ownership of all of his master recordings. It’s a boast that most artists can’t make, including Drake. On Drizzy’s version of “We Made It,” he rapped about visiting Universal Records just to make sure they weren’t missing any payments; Jay, however, doesn’t have those problems. “I own my masters, you know I ain’t missing no royalty statements,” he raps, using Drake’s original rhyme style.
3. Jay Elec Is The Rap Game’s Farrakhan
With his raps, Jay Elec has often referenced Five-Percent Nation and Nation of Islam teachings, so when he declares himself the “Farrakhan of rap,” the boast doesn’t sound too far-fetched. The New Orleans rapper not only compares himself to the Nation of Islam leader, he also says he’s the son of NOI founder Wallace Fard Muhammad.
4. Jay Z’s Pronunciation Of Lupita Nyong’o Is Perfect
Kudos to Hov for pronouncing the Academy Award-winning “12 Years a Slave” star’s name correctly in his raps and avoiding a John Travolta Oscar situation. Whew!
5. Gotta Work On That Spanish, Though
Jigga’s Spanish isn’t bad, but considering all the time that he’s spent with “papi,” his business partner O.G. Juan Perez, you’d think words like “estúpido” and “sucio” would roll off the tongue just a little easier.
6. Elec Still Reps For B.I.G.
Electronica drove the rap world nuts when he dropped “The Ghost of Christopher Wallace” with Diddy back in 2010, and we love that he is still paying homage to the Notorious B.I.G. on “We Made It.” In a salute to Biggie, Elec borrows his cadence from 1997’s “Notorious Thugs” when he spits: “All these n—as I got to fight one/ All these devils I got to strike some.”
7. Jay Z Is Hater-Proof. No Really, He’s Been Inoculated
OK, so we don’t really believe that Hov has a vaccine for hate, though if such a thing existed, we’re sure the mogul would be first in line. After Jay’s “I’ve been inoculated from the snakes and the fakes” lyric, we wouldn’t be surprised if he launched Roc Nation Pharmaceuticals.
8. There Are Some Things Obamacare Just Can’t Help
Both Jay Z and Jay Elec tackle the psychological damage caused by slavery in America, and Elec exemplifies how deep-rooted the pain is when he rhymes: “Obamacare won’t heal all that anguish/ We came a long way from the bottom of the boat/ All praise to the Mahdi, we found our language.”
9. The Story Of Yakub
Listeners may have scratched their heads when they heard Jay Z threaten to “chase Yakub back into the caves.” Jigga doesn’t provide much explanation as to who exactly Yakub is, but certainly prompted more than a few Google searches on the scientist that the Nation of Islam says created a race of devils.
10. Jay Electronica Rhyme Was Influenced By A Recent Vacation
We’re not sure when Elec wrote his verse, but it was clearly influenced by a recent trip to Egypt. In February, Jay posed for a music video in front of the Great Sphinx of Giza, and on “We Made It” he reflects on his journey spitting, “Face all on the Sphinx, story all in the wall of the pyramids/ N—as know the Black Gods saved me, you can blow the nose off that won’t change it.”
No Comments