Jay Electronica Surprise Drops New Album "A Written Testimony: Leaflets" On His 49th Birthday

Jay Electronica has been one of hip-hop's most elusive artists since first making his presence felt with Act I: The Eternal Sunshine and "Exhibit C" all the way back in the late 2000s. The latter, which is among the greatest tracks in the history of the genre, secured him a recording contract with Roc Nation in 2010.

After a decade of false starts and pump fakes with releasing Act II: The Patents Of Nobility, he finally gave fans his debut album in 2020, a collaborative effort with Jay-Z titled A Written Testimony. Shortly after, a rough draft version of Act II leaked, but other than a handful of features for acts like Westside Gunn, Noname and Chance The Rapper, Jay Elec went dormant again.

Now, he's back with more new music after adding Act I and Act II to streaming services earlier this week. On his 49th birthday (September 19), he dropped A Written Testimony: Leaflets. The new album is seven tracks and 29 minutes, and features plenty of the trademark Jay Elec sounds. Of course, that means obscure film samples and no shortage of audio clips from Louis Farrakhan, whose voice also opened the original A Written Testimony. Because Jay Electronica is no stranger to controversy, the opening voice on this new album is Diddy, who provides a table-setting intro for the affair.

The raps on here are stronger than they've been in recent years. Of course, it would be unfair to compare this project to tracks like the aforementioned "Exhibit C" or "Shiny Suit Theory." Songs like "Who Killed Michael Jackson??????" with Quentin Miller or "4,400,000,000 / The Worst Is Yet To Come" are a reminder that, at his best, Jay Electronica can still be one of the best. We'd just like to hear from him more often. Give Leaflets a listen below.