i disagree about jay not sayingnanything meaningful. his bars hit hard because hes lived them and not just reporting what hes heard or seen out his bedroom window ala kendrick. jay has lived so many lives.
When I was sleeping on the train
Sleeping on Meserole Ave out in the rain
Without even a single slice of pizza to my name
Too proud to beg for change masterin' the pain
When New York nikkas was calling southern rappers lame
But then jackin' our slang
I used to get dizzy spells, hear a little ring
The voice of a angel tellin' me my name
Tellin' me that one day I'm a be a great man
Transformin' with the MegatronDon spittin' out flames
Eatin' wack rappers alive shyttin' out chains
I ain't believe it then, nikka I was homeless
Fightin', shootin' dice, smokin' weed on the corners
Tryna find the meaning of life in a Corona
Till the Five Percenters rolled up on a nikka and informed him
"You either build or destroy, where you come from?"
"The Magnolia projects in the 3rd Ward slum"
"Hmm, it's quite amazing that you rhyme how you do
And that you shine like you grew up in a shrine in Peru"
Question 14, Muslim lesson 2: Dip diver, civilize a 85er
I make the devil hit his knees and say the Our Father
Abracadabra! You rockin' with the true and livin'
Shout out to Lights Out, Joseph I, Chewy Bivens,
Shout out to Baltimore, Baton Rouge, my crew in Richmond
While y'all debated who the truth was like Jews and Christians
I was on Cecil B, Broad Street, Master, North Philly, South Philly, 23rd, Tasker
6 Mile, 7 Mile, Hartwell, Gratiot
Where nikkas really would pack a U-Haul truck up
Put the high beams on
Drive up on the curb at a barbecue and hop up out the back like "what's up"
"Kill a nikka, rob a nikka, take a nikka, buss up"
That's why when you talk that tough talk I never feel ya
You sound real good and you play the part well
But the energy you givin' off is so unfamiliar
I don't feel ya
Nas hit me up on the phone said "what you waitin on"
Tip hit me up with a Twit said "what you waitin on"
Diddy send a text every hour on the dot sayin "when you gon drop that verse nikka you takin long"
So now I'm back spittin that He could pass a polygraph
That Reverend Run rockin Addidas out on Hollis Ave
That F.O.I., Marcus Garvey, Nikki Tesla
I shock you like a eel, electric feel, Jay Electra
They call me Jay Electronica
fukk that, call me Jay ElecHannukah
Jay ElecYarmulke
Jay ElectRamadan Muhammad Asalama'Aleykum Rasul'Allah subhana wa ta'Allah through your monitor
My uzi still weigh a ton, check the barometer
I'm hotter then the mothafukkin' sun, check the thermometer
I'm bringing ancient mathematics back to modern man
My momma told me "never throw a stone and hide your hand"
I got a lot of family, you got a lot of fans
That's why the people got my back like the Verizon man
I play the back and fade to black and then devise a plan
Out in London, smokin', vibin' while I ride the tram
Givin' out that raw food to lions disguised as lambs,
And, by the time they get they seats hot,
And deploy all they henchmen to come at me from the treetops,
I'm chillin' out at Tweetstock,
Building by the millions,
My light is brilliant
thats just one song. he has gems all over the place. i seriously doubt you have listened to any jay electrnica to say he hasnt said anythimg meaningful. thats absolute bullshyt.
I appreciate the receipts. Too often on this site, stans cry and wont produce receipts, with the excuse that "you wont change your mind anyway." Which is bullshyt. You provide good receipts, and I'll change my mind. So in regards to what I said about Jay E not saying anything meaningful, I stand corrected. I haven't heard Jay Elec material in a long time, but I vaguely remember the verses you posted. Most of them. They're definitely better-written than any of Kendrick's shyt. So let's get that out of the way.
Jay Elec's best rhymes are not earth shatteringly dope by any standard. if I compare him to the greats, it's mediocre. Not wack, but mediocre. He aint really saying anything. He's referencing deeper things so you think he's observant, but there's no deeper insight.
Also, that's just one song. His most famous one. Anyone can post Exhibit C (which was always overrated) but what about the rest of his shyt?
The one thing I never liked about Jay Elec is his voice, delivery and beat selection. His rhymes are definitely higher tier for the game today. But he fails in all the other and more important departments.