JAY-Z’s Evolution Continues on ‘A Written Testimony’

JAY-Z would like to draw as little attention away from Jay Electronica as possible. 

On A Written Testimony, Electronica’s debut album released last Friday after a decade-plus wait, JAY-Z is more phantom than featured guest. He’s completely unlisted on the eight tracks that he appears, even the previously-released “Shiny Suit Theory.” And on release night, when social distancing relegated a planned three-city listening party to Jay Elec simply livestreaming from the studio, Jigga never appeared before the camera. His presence was not seen, only fleetingly heard. And yet, JAY-Z is the first rapper you hear on the album. Good intentions notwithstanding, his presence is, unsurprisingly, too commanding to ever fully cede a spotlight.

Does JAY-Z outrap Jay Electronica on his own album? To even debate so may be derisive and besides the point. (Even so, they don’t call him the GOAT for nothing.) What matters is how he sounds on it—as energized, locked in, and inspired as ever. These aren’t autopilot raps designed to capitalize on the moment and event-ize the album as much as possible. Testimony is the culmination of a journey eleven years in the making for Jay Electronica (and with it being his debut, theoretically a summation of his life experiences up to this point as well). But Hov shows up just as eager, if not moreso, to get some bars off his chest. 

It’s been almost three years since JAY-Z’s last solo album, almost two since his last project, and a year and a half since his last verse. In that time, he’s reached his self-mythologized billionaire milestone, continuously challenged music industry norms while positioning Roc Nation as an avenger for mistreated artists, and yes, entered into one of the most controversial partnerships in recent history by forging an alliance with the NFL, a highly scrutinized deal many critics wrote off as peak sellout behavior. As soon as critiques rolled in, it became clear that the first JAY-Z verse/song/project to follow would contain some slickly worded PR, as he’s always done in these instances, with more verve than any press release could contain. 

Most importantly, though, he’s having fun. Jay Electronica isn’t just an artist on his label and an asset in this equation, he’s a rapper JAY is an admitted fan of, someone many would call a peer (skillswise at least) off the strength of the “Exhibits” alone. JAY knew that much when they collaborated for the first time, nine years ago on “Shiny Suit Theory,” rising to the occasion and delivering one of his best verses (guest feature or otherwise) to date.