The Road To Jay Electronica's "Act II: Patents Of Nobility"

Jay Electronica is now 38 years old. It's been nearly eight years since his first mixtape surfaced on the web, nearly five years since he signed with Roc Nation, and nearly four years since he claimed his debut album was finished. Album delays are commonplace these days, but four years? We heard a version of "Shiny Suit Theory" days after Jay E. signed with Hov; that was in November of 2010, and, as far as we know, a version of the track will still appear on the album. 

Today, we got "Road to Perdition", which was on the tracklist Jay tweeted in July of 2012. It's another sign that this album might very well exist, though we've barely heard 20% of it. Jay Z and Bun B are among those who have, supposedly, heard (and blessed) the record. I'm sure they can count themselves lucky, but you wonder, do Hov and Roc Nation even want to put Act II out anymore? If so--however many months/years down the line--will you still be interested? 

Last year, Mass Appeal shared a trailer for an experimental documentary, Into the Light, whose subject is the man himself--Jay Electronica. The trailer, which you can watch below, shows Jay wandering the Far East engaging in various religious healing ceremonies. Indeed, it's safe to assume Jay hasn't been spending all these years fighting with his boss, the other Jay, over his album's release. But why, then, the yearly leaks? The agony...

Ahead is a timeline that includes everything we know about Act II, aka the greatest album never heard. 

Act I: The Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) surfaced in July of 2007, almost seven years ago. The mysterious release was a fifteen-minute long mixtape of spoken word clips from Just Blaze and Erykah Badu, instrumentals from the soundtrack of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and esoteric verses from a rapper by the name of Jay Electronica. 

In late 2010, Jay Electronica signed to Roc Nation. Below is a video of Jay Z announcing the signing at an official Roc Nation party, and an ensuing performance from Jay Electronica himself. Jay Z prefaced the announcement by saying it was time to "reintroduce magic into hip-hop, the love, the wizardry." 

It was known that Jay E. had been courted by Diddy, among other industry moguls, but after the offer, he stated, "Jay-Z made me an offer I couldn't refuse." 

The signing came a year after Jay Electronica released his most critically-praised work--his second Just Blaze-produced "Exhibit", which he titled "Exhibit C"; "Exhibit B" has not been released. After "Exhibit C", his followers were already crowning him the next Nas. 

Days after signing, Jay released "Shiny Suit Theory", which featured Jay Z & The Dream.

In July 2011, Jay tweeted the title of his album and said Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn) was complete. He expressed his desire to share the song "Road to Perdition" which featured a certain "Mr. Carter". He then named a select group of people who he claims have heard the album in its entirety, including: Jay Z, Bun B, Jaymes Samuel, Tony Tagoe, and then-girlfriend Erykah Badu. He finished saying that with the album's release--along with Watch the Throne and Cole World: The Sideline Story (which Jay misspells as "Cold" in the tweet)--Roc Nation "will set the bar at an all time high." 

In March of 2012, Jay tweeted, again, that his album was complete. 

Days later, Questlove spoke on Act II, and, speaking on Jay Z's behalf, said [Jay Z] "says it's his favorite record of 2012". He went on to say there is not yet a single on the album--and Hov wanted a single. 

In July of 2012, a year and a half after signing, Jay E. tweeted the tracklist to his debut album, though he didn't include any mention of a release date. He listed features from Kanye West, Jay Z, Diddy, late French singer Serge Gainsbourg and his daughter, actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, and 40th U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who's name Jay slightly misspelled. The tracklist featured an updated version of "Shiny Suit Theory", now titled "Dinner At Tiffany's", featuring Charlotte Gainsbourg. 

Jay Elec then went on to explain the meaning of the album's title, in a tweet he has since deleted (but has been saved via okayplayer). Jay wrote, "Every magic trick consists of three parts. The Pledge: where the magician shows you something ordinary; a bird, a deck of cards or a man. The Turn: Where the magician takes the ordinary something and does something #Extraordinary.” The third part is "The Prestige" (don't even start talking about a second album). 

Thus, Act I, the mixtape, was merely ordinary, and for his debut album we should expect the #Extraordinary.

He then thanked his boss for being so patient on an album that was, already (in 20120), overdue: "I'd like to thank Hov for being one of the most patient label heads in the history of label heads. I have the best fans in the world. Thank you all.”

Last March, we heard the first new song since Jay tweeted the tracklist almost two years before. "Better in Tune with the Infinite" featured singer LaTonya Givens. 

Then, today, we got "Road To Perdition", the track Jay Electronica was so eager to share with us when he first let us know that Act II was complete. "Road To Perdition" doesn't actually feature Jay Z, as was indicated before, but rather a sample of Hov speaking on "Success", off The Black Album. The track does, however, feature a speech from Ronald Reagan, who was previously thought to appear on the track "Real Magic", which, of course, we haven't heard. Still waiting on that magic.