Jay Electronica’s “Act II” Isn’t Dropping (Any Time Soon) Posted by Lucas G. on 03/24/14 | Filed under Opinion, Jay Electronica

If I had a nickel for every Jay Electronica song released the past two years I'd have zero nickels. If I had a nickel for every Jay Electronica song released in the past two weeks I'd have enough for twi pieces of Bazooka Joe. Now for your normal rapper, two releases in a short time span is nothing really (I mean Beyonce dropped a surprise album after all), but for Jay Elect-dissappear-ica, two songs is two more than we ever expected. I'm happy with thee two songs, but like any normal fan, I'm greedy. I want more, specifically, I want Act II...now.

Now I have gone on record as saying Jay Elec is one of (if not the most) talented emcee around but even I have given up hope trying to defend him; it made me feel like I was trying to convince the world that the Loch Ness monster exists. It's too much time and energy devoted to a guy who essentially making "Detox 2.0". Still, even while telling myself to temper my expectations before I listened to these songs, all I could think about was the album. Are "Better in Tune With the Infinite" and "We Made It" signs of what's to come?

Long story short, no, no they are not. It took me all of Sunday to work through it, but I finally did it. I refuse to be a victim and I refuse to let these two releases convince me that something more is on the way. It's hard not to fall in that trap. Not hearing from an emcee for a while then having them drop knowledge twice in two weeks is like running into that girl (or guy) you used to hook up with. You don't what their deal is, but you sort of feel like you have a good chance to score because you have before. It's sort of the same here, I mean two songs from a guy who hasn't dropped a solo cut since before Anthony Davis and Kentucky were crowned champions (2012), has to be something right? There is no way he would release two songs in as many weeks if he wasn't planning something bigger. In between my brackets busting and "Walking Dead", I was tearing myself apart about this, but I woke up today and realized, getting excited about Act II will only lead to blue balls ears.

"Dear Believers and Patient Supporters. Thank you for your patience and support.The Album will be turned in Tomorrow evening. The wait ends"

See that? That comes from a now deleted tweet from Jay Elec from March...of 2012. Two years after he turned it in, we have yet to get any news, other than the occasional person saying it's the greatest album ever. After two years, you think he's going to announce the album with a Soulja Boy freestyle?

Hear that? it's the only song we know (or at least think we know) that will be on the album. I still remember having that on rotation...senior year of college when I was studying for mid-terms (that was more than three years ago).

Hear that? It's Questlove, telling us, more than two years ago, that we won't get the album until 2015 (word to Complex). So far, it has been about the only logical, realistic expectation I have heard about this album.

Basically, the point I am trying to make here is that, while these two tracks are cool, Electronica's album probably isn't dropping anytime soon. Jay is the rap Game Halley's Comet, and there is just no reason to expect a freestyle and a random loosie, no matter how dope they may be, are to be some sort of omen. If Call Of Duty (released in 2011) or Dear Moleskine (released in April of 2012), were followed by years of silence (I'm only talking Jay Elec cuts here, no guest spots), who's to say this is any different? Evidence would suggest that this is, in fact, the norm. If this was any other rapper, nobody would even bat an eye or demand a project, but because it's Electronica, people make it into something more. I don't want to burst your bubble or be the one who poops in your punch bowl (that's a saying right) but as someone who struggled with coming to grips with just what this sudden outburst of music (you know when two songs is an outburst of music something wrong) means, I have to tell you, don't hold your breath.

I could be, and I hope, I'm wrong but unfortunately, I don't think I am. I've been here too many times to get tricked again. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice... can't get fooled again.

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