The Hip-Hop Avant Garde

Hello, it's been awhile. Having moved to NYC three months ago, life has been busy, exhilarating, and busy—so busy that I left barely any time to listen to any music.

Fortunately, that's changed, and I’m feeling inspired again. What’s been inspiring me lately? Well, hip-hop. Of course, there’s the new Kanye album, which everyone is buzzing about. There’s plenty of writing on this album already, so I’m not going to go there, but know that I love it. Love it.

But beyond Kanye, I’ve been discovering some other jams (most of which I’m way behind the ball on). There’s Jay Electronica, for one, whose “Eternal Sunshine (Part 1): The Pledge” has been blowing my mind of late. I’ve always thought that classical music might provide a suitably epic backdrop for some epic rhymes (see one of my favorite Luda tracks). While it's not Mozart of Dvorak, the soundtrack from the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” which serves as the backdrop for this track, prominently features strings, winds, and piano in a way that is, if not classical, certainly not your typical hip-hop either. Case in point: there's no beat. Jay's rhymes provide the rhythmic drive. The result is 15-minute long journey, beginning with spoken introductions by Just Blaze and Erykah Badu, and then moving to rhymes, Willy Wonka dialogue, and more rhymes. Equal parts melancholy and mystical, the mood that Jay Electronica creates is unlike that of any other hip-hop track I’ve heard. And his rhymes are unreal--captivating flow, lyrics that are crazy cool and weird and mystical, awesomely defiant of the rap mainstream:

I could care less about a plaque and Bidd-enz or get Punk'd on TV by my frid-ends
Don't get a nigga wrong,
I get tempted by the rewards that all come along with making nigga songs
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 when you talk like this, and try to walk like this the radio stations'll never put a nigga on
Just Mims, just Fifty, just Wayne, just Jeezy, Dem Franchize Boyz, and Jimmy Jones
Fuck that, fuck rap this God-Hop,
King-dom mu-sic for the hard rocks
I'ma spit it till T-R-L get it and Hot ninety-seven hit the nigga with a bomb drop
Ask Flex, ask Slay, ask Who Kidd
Just Blaze said Jay is the new kid
I took Eternal Sunshine and I looped it
No drums no hook just new shit

Jay’s been in the news recently, having signed to Jay-Z’s label. I only hope that he keeps pushing the boundaries of hip-hop, remaining independent and critical of the mainstream. He ends "Eternal Sunshine" with the following lines:

But y'all would much rather hear me rappin' bout trash
The size of Erykah's ass, blunts and cash
We need savin'
Minds are consumed with swine we need bathin'

Jay, I must respectfully disagree--we'd rather you just keep doin' what you're doin'.

Jay Electronica - Eternal Sunshine (Part 1): The Pledge (YSI) (filesavr)
Jay Electronica - Shiny Suit Theory (feat. Jay-Z and The Dream) (YSI) (filesavr)