One of the most talked-about rappers of 2008, Jay Electronica built his reputation via the Internet and word of mouth, without so much as a single commercial release to his credit. Born Je'Ri Allah in 1976, he grew up in the Magnolia projects of New Orleans, where he lived until age 19. In the years that followed, he lived a nomadic lifestyle, moving back and forth between Atlanta, New York, Detroit, and Baltimore, among other cities. He adopted the Jay Electronica alias while living in Baltimore circa 2000. While in Detroit, he befriended associates of J Dilla, working closely with engineer Mike "Chav" Chavarria and collaborating with producer Denaun Porter (aka Mr. Porter). As a rapper, he distributed his recordings via the Internet, primarily his MySpace page. Among these Internet-circulated recordings, a few stood out and helped create a buzz: "Act 1," an epic homemade rap over Jon Brion's score for the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; "Bitches and Drugs," a J Dilla production; "Extra Extra," a Madlib production; and the StyleWars EP. The word of mouth didn't hurt, either, as Erykah Badu, Just Blaze, Nas, and others spoke highly of Jay Electronica in the media. Moreover, Badu reportedly made him the first signee of her Control FreaQ Records label. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi
million and perform on every awards show. It's getting in touch with somebody who needs to improve their self-esteem as opposed to driving a Bentley a...
and friend Diddy, who's up to his old ad-libbing antics on the track. But Jay Elect said the song was meant ... Jay Electronica, Diddy Debut 'The Ghos...
tongue if you gon be out here emotional and wreckless with it." That's when Diddy appeared to take the whole thing back. "I proud of you! I'm happy fo...
-driven instrumental. "I'm just blessed to be chosen to be a part of this amazing movement that's about to go down," Givens says at the video's conclu...
, the collaboration may seem odd, but it makes perfect sense to Lil B. "If you listen to Jay Electronica's first mixtape that he had 'Exhibit C' on, a...
At the Science Of Speech concert with Rakim, De La Soul and Blackstar in London, Talib Kweli & Mos Def brought out Jay El. ... Blackstar Bring Out Jay...
RZA noted that hip-hop doesn't belong to just one region. The entire world has embraced it and has partial ownership. "If anybody got a question of wh...
Music compilation is getting more interesting by the day Word on the e-streets is the album is near completion for a Spring 2012 release. The crew has...
During Ski Beatz' press day for his new album, 24 Hour Karate School Presents: Twilight, VIBE.com spoke with the veteran producer on the new project. ...
In 2009, Jay Electronica posted a parcel of the Just Blaze-produced "Dear Moleskine" on YouTube, and now the full track has surfaced in its spare, psy...
