On March 13, 2020, a bomb that was inconspicuous but powerful enough ignited and swept through the entire American rap circle, and Jay Electronica and Jay-Z, who had only heard its voice for a long time and did not see its people, made a cooperative album that could bring people deep thinking and careful play in 40 days.
Although he retreated to the front line, Jay-Z, who still lived under the long guns of the media, chose not to appear on the credit of this album, and his usually low-key little brother appeared on the performer column alone. Jay Electronica, who has been in the hip-hop circle for a decade but exists in another way, really interprets the dry goods and ideas in his brain.
Hov's wife, BiJu, casually took a photo of her own swimming pool and became the cover of the album
Louis Farrakhan, the leader of Black Islam in the United States, was selected by Jay Elec as the album's intro, and his speeches are often quoted by Jay Electronica because he is also a faithful believer in Islam.
The honorable has said that almighty God Allah revealed to him
The venerable Ilija Muhammad once said that he received inspiration from Almighty God
That the black people of America are the real children of Israel
Black Americans are the real children of Israel
And they - we - are the choice of God
They — we — are God's choice
And that unto us, he will deliver his promise
He will fulfill his promises to us
The Elijah Muhammed mentioned in the speech, a teacher of Louis Farrakhan and also the leader of black Muslims, called on black people to get rid of white government, the idea of white supremacy, return to the original Islam, and establish a black autonomous state, which is probably what intro means, and Electronica's radical ideas and beliefs are revealed in this intro, which logically leads to the next part.
"So，Are youscared of death，Negro？" The mood of the entire album burst forth with the opening speech and drumbeat of "Ghost Of Soulja Slim".
Soulja Slim, formerly known as James Adarryl Tapp Jr., is an American rapper who was shot dead in 2003 at her stepfather's home. Due to the identity of the Negro and the lack of communication in that era, no witnesses came forward to testify, resulting in the final case being closed.
Jay-Z in the first verse of the album expresses his opinion on this poignant question combined with his own experience, and says that he will inherit his legacy, that he will always be a rebel against such issues, and in the second half of the verse, Jay-Z does not hesitate to praise his position and the most fundamental gap between himself and the young rapper.
I ain't even tryna hold you Magnolia Slim
I'm not even going to try to keep you, Soulja Slim in Magnolia (Magnolia is a dangerous area in New Orleans that is being redeveloped, and Soulja Slim and Jay Electronica are from it)
I'm a soldier from that mode, I'm the ghost of him
I was a soldier of that era, I was his ghost
From the era of police stretcher, no cameras catch him
In the age of police injustice, there was no camera to capture it all
Drop you off in a rival hood, you rather be arrested
Send you to the territory of your opponent, and you'd rather be arrested
If you didn't have no straps you couldn't wear your necklace
If you don't have a bandage (shot), you can't bring a necklace, (successful rappers seem to have an indissoluble relationship with firearms)
*****s hand around your throat, that's a choker reference
Enemies wrap their hands around your throat, which is finger suffocation (choker pun, suffocation/necklace)
Jay Elec's Verse expressed the status gap between him and Jay-Z and the rest
If it come from me and Hov, consider it Q'uran
If it was written by me and Jay-Z, please when it is the Quran
If it come from any of those, consider it Harām
If it comes from someone else, please when he is something sinful
At the end of the song, Jay-Z coherents these two sentences, indicating that what came out of his mouth, what was once considered evil, is now considered to be an immutable truth, and also reflects the forward-looking thinking of Jay-Z.
Think of things I said that you hated then
Think about what I said at the time that disgusted you
Empirical facts that can't be debated now
Now it's an indisputable fact
Things you say today, I was sayin' then
Your words today have long since come out of my mouth
Tell us who your favorite now
Tell us, who is your favorite right now?
The addition of Swizz Beat and Hit-Boy in "The Blinding" and the vocals of Travis Scott make the song a true all-star production. The two of them went from the previous discussion of their own status to reflecting their inner world in a narrative way.
The metaphors of Islam that can be seen everywhere in the song and the Arabic pronunciation at the beginning can still make people feel a strong religious flavor. (Travis Scott has only three words in the song, which disappointed many TS fans) Jay-Elec expressed his weariness of chasing fame and fortune.
Who signed every contract and missed the deadlines
Signed all the contracts and then lost the deadline (signed Hov's label, but didn't want the chance to burst the flames)
40 days, 40 nights, tryna live up to the hype.
Forty days and nights of hard work, just to live up to everyone's expectations
It's the road less traveled, it's the one who missed the flights
This road is doomed to be lonely, doomed to miss flights ("this road" refers to the road of chasing fame and fortune)
Hov hit me up like, "What, you scared of heights?
Hov asked me, "Why, are you afraid of heights?" (Why not go after fame and fortune)
The name "The Neverminding Story" is taken from the film of the same name, which tells the story of a boy who gets a magic book and then fights the evil forces, Jay-Elec expresses the same ambition as the film, he sees himself as a fighter against evil forces and matter, and his magic book is the Quran.
Legendary producer The Alchemist made the song, the whole song gives people a psychedelic hazy feeling, the female voice's chanting and the ventriloquism performance at the end make the song also have an exotic style, but the lyrics of the two can still give you a strong sense of impact.
Though I tarry through the valley of death, my Lord give me pasture
Even though I live in the Valley of Death, the Lord gave me pasture
If you want to be amaster in life, you must submit to a master
If you want to be the master of life, you have to obey the master
I was born to lock horns with the devil at the brink of the hereafter
I was born to fight the devil on the brink of the afterlife
Me, the socket, the plug and universal adapter
I, is a socket, plug and universal adapter (meaning Jay-Elec can handle any situation)
Jay-Z's verse talks about national self-confidence, and finally he calls on everyone (the black race) to face up to their identity and flaws, and not to pay attention to the gossip.
They both have straightening combs, little did they know
Both of them straightened their hair with combs and knew nothing (catering to European traits, using straight hair combs to change the curly hair of African descent, they were referring to Jay-Z's grandmother and mother-in-law)
I hold the heat next
I continue to keep this temperature/enthusiasm (the hot environment in Africa makes black people have a better heat dissipation),
Neither tool, can beused to fix our defects
Neither can be used as a tool to compensate for our shortcomings (heat and comb)
P.S. we born perfect, **** all the B.S
Notes, we're born perfect, those crap (PS pun, Note/Photoshop, P.S doesn't fundamentally solve our problem)
Everybody wanna beus for real, we just gotta see us
Everybody wants to be us, and we need to face ourselves (referring to the black race)
Insha'Allah
This is the will of the Allah
"Shiny SuitStory" is Jay-Elec's first song to join Roc Nation, and the first verse tells the story of Jay-Elec, who is about to make a career rise, being promoted by Puff Daddy.
Me and Puff, we waschilling in Miami
Diddy and I had a merry ride in Miami
He said, "Nigga **** the underground, you need to win a Grammy
He said, "Dude, you have to win a Grammy."
For your mama andyour famliy, they need to see you shined up
Your mother and your family want to see you radiant
You built a mightyhigh ladder, let me see you climb up
You've built a big step, just climb it
The second verse tells the story of the already accomplished Hov and the white supremacist psychologist who once looked down on him, and Hov plays the psychologist.
How could this nappy-headed boy from out the projects
How this positive boy got out of this neighborhood
Be the apple of America's obsession?
Are you the jewel in the palm of America?
You totally disconnected with reality, don't believe in dreams
You are completely out of touch with reality, don't believe your dreams
Since when did black men become kings?"
When will it be the turn of blacks to dominate the world?
Combined with jay-Z's current status, it can be seen that he is completely ridiculous. Interestingly, Jay-Elec is not the kind of person who chases fame and fortune, and Jay-Z is the opposite, and the situation they faced at that time was the opposite of their ambitions.
"Universal Soldier" begins with a news audio clip about three military officers directly responsible for the bombing of Hiroshima by the United States in 1945. Both are talking about the struggles in life and gratitude to God, and the melodious female voice in the song seems to soothe the wounded hearts of the two people, giving this cold song a little warmth.
The last song I want to talk about is "All Praise Is Due To Allah", a song recorded on the day of Kobe's death, in which Hov expresses his infinite sentimentality and regret as a friend of Kobe's
I got numbers on my phone that'll never ring again
The stored number never rings again
'Cause Allah done called them home, so we never sing again
The Lord's call to them to come home was haunting
I got texts on my phone that'll never ping again
The mailbox prompt no longer rings
I screen shot 'em soI got 'em, I don't want this thing to—
I don't want to take a screenshot of the secret...
Although this is an album with more religious and ethnic content, but there are two people who slowly flow in the regret and helplessness of life, all their views on things are based on their experiences, the album begins with a very powerful speech, and finally chooses to end in a take it personal way, so that the open narrative mode also makes my evaluation of this album and the two artists to a higher level.
There is no doubt that in my mind the two contributed the best rap album of the year, Jay Electronica and Jay-Z cleverly transformed the burden of black society into ambition. The flow of the two men's loose and sharpness makes the rap itself more integrated into the music, as for how many samples and references are used in this album, I really can't count, which makes this album give people a sense of distance, because behind many metaphors and samples, is the huge and heavy religious and era background behind the whole album, it is absolutely difficult to fully understand this album, and it is even more difficult to integrate a lot of content in just forty minutes.
The first five songs of the album, the addition of production and lyrics, the suppressed pride and momentum in the skull from time to time, and the last five songs of the album we become a devout listener, feeling the depth of the flow. Even if we are not in the same culture and do not speak the same language, the album itself carries emotions that we can at least feel.
Making an album with a mysterious color is not too easy for Jay-Elec, he himself is a capital mystery, and he left his hometown at the age of 19 to chase his dreams, known as the "Kerouac of the hip-hop world" (American writer, the representative of the "Beat Generation"), which shows how highly people evaluate his lyricism ability and ideological level.
The only two things people know about him are the unsubscribed verse in "Control" and the dedication in "Coloring Book." As everyone knows, he has actually met with Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, and he has gone on a pilgrimage to Nepal alone, he is a devout Muslim, he hates to chase fame and fortune, so in the more than 10 years of disappearing, who knows what kind of experience he has, which allows him to confidently compare himself with Hov in the song.
As for the man on the album, it must be his honor to be able to participate in such an album at the age of 51, as to why he is anonymous in the album, perhaps, he does not want to add commercial elements to this album, perhaps he is afraid that he will cover the light of Jay Eelec, after all, it is his little brother who does not pursue fame and profit.
With a win-win relationship and career, will he sometimes think about living the life of his little brother? His move like this may be the best answer. As long as he stands in front of the microphone, he will always be the most lethal.
In my heart, real people are crazy, they love life, they love to chat, they don't show their sharp edges, they want to have everything, they never get tired, they never talk about ordinary things, but like wonderful yellow Roman fireworks tubes, they keep spewing fireballs and sparks, dragging eight legs like spiders under the stars, and the blue light at the center point bursts, and people all emit "ah" exclamations.
— Jack Kerouac
He was walking alone, but he never stopped
May the two old artists always be young and always in tears
Article author: $PEEDBOAT
Special thanks: Jesse Wang
Resources:
A Written Testimony: Faith and Heritage by KidCarter
Wiki、Genius、P4K