Jay Electronica Live @ Jazz Cafe
Posted on 19. Feb, 2010 by Broadband in Entertainment, Events, Music
Event: Jay Electronica’s First UK Live Show
Date: Wednesday 17th October 2010
Location: Jazz Cafe, Camden
Time: 8pm
Procrastination in buying a ticket almost cost me one of the best nights of 2010 so far as I witnessed a legend in the making in the mould of Jay Electronica. The New Orleans native came to Jazz Cafe, saw the crowd and conquered the music spreading edutainment to the more than appreciative audience.
Although we were kept waiting, the anticipation paid dividends as he graced the stage in style in a fitted suit and sharp shoes and began interacting with the audience serving people drinks and delivering comedic lines in abundance almost letting us forget it was a music concert in the first place.
Proclaiming to be nervous he served himself some Jack Daniels and with the assistance of his DJ, TJ The King went on to spit the fire that the devoted and educated fanbase in attendance had expected of him. When the music became the forefront it was magic; let’s not get it twisted for one second, Jay is an absolute beast on the mic.
Lyrically and Consciously in sync, the content in his music and style of delivery served as a catalyst for positive vibes and pandemonium in the crowd. From Moleskine to Eternal Sunshine to Abracadabra he flowed effortlessly reminding us that real hip-hop is very much still alive. One aspect of his performance that I personally loved was his tendency to let his last verses in almost every track only be spat in acapella; so not only can the crowd dissect his complex lyrics but feel them and understand the context.
A consummate philanthropist he was all about spreading positive vibes and helping the audience to understand the importance of human connection and obtaining a higher level of being without discriminating. He offered anyone in the crowd to spit over a Dilla beat during his J Dilla tribute and a young man by the name of Mangaliso Asi came on and killed it, one to watch for the future.
I was blown away by how brilliant this rapper was and judging by the large amount of “wooooos” after certain lines in his tracks the crowd were also. Ending the night with two of his most popular and poignant tracks in Exhibit A & Exhibit C, Jay set the place alight and gave me an experience I wont forget in a hurry.
He then proceeded to jump off stage and sign autographs, promote crowd T-Shirts and take pictures with the audience whilst letting anyone who wanted to spit to the Exhibit C instrumental do so. Top man! Special Praise must go to Klashnekoff and Neo-Soul artist Fatima who were brilliant performers in the build up to the main act.
I think it’s fair to say after tonight that not only am I fan of Jay Elect as a rapper/performer, Im a fan of the guy, period. Real Hip-Hop Lives!
Pic Sources http://www.flickr.com/photos/musiclikedirt/4367593790/in/set-72157623458835510/
Splendid Show! : )