| Jay Electronica | |||||||||||||
| Alias: | Je'Ri | ||||||||||||
| Birth Name: | Timothy Elpadaro Thedford[1] | ||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 19 September 1976[2] | ||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Genre: | Hip hop | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: |
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| Years Active: | 2000–present | ||||||||||||
| Label: |
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Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah[3] [4] (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as ), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he first saw recognition with release of his mixtape, (2007). Its success, along with his standalone single "Exhibit C", led New York rapper Jay-Z to sign Electronica to his record label, Roc Nation by 2010 following a multi-label bidding war. His debut studio album, A Written Testimony (2020) was met with critical acclaim and entered the Billboard 200 at number 12; it was followed by his second album, (2020) in October of that same year. His guest performance on Kanye West's 2021 song "Jesus Lord" marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]
In 2007, Jay Electronica released his first mixtape, , via Myspace. It was downloaded over 50,000 times.[6] That success and his catalog led to Electronica joining the Rock the Bells Tour in 2008.[7]
Later that year, producer Just Blaze and Jay Electronica selected songs for Guitar Center's GAIN project, Fresh Cuts Vol. 3 and included a (previously unnamed) song which Just Blaze named "Exhibit A (Transformations)."[8]
Just Blaze would later (October 27, 2009) debut "Exhibit C" on Tony Touch's Sirius Radio program,[9] where it quickly caught on, making its way to terrestrial radio stations like New York's Hot 97 and spawning artist remixes from MCs AZ, N.O.R.E, Saigon, Joell Ortiz and others.
A bidding war ensued with Jay finally signing (November 12, 2010) with Roc Nation. Though fans and critics anticipated a full-length debut, Electronica's output in the subsequent decade consisted of several collaborations and non-album solo songs.[10]
On February 7, 2020, Jay Electronica announced via Twitter[11] the completion of his album, A Written Testimony, which was recorded over a 40-day period. It was released on March 13, 2020.[12]
On October 5, 2020, Jay Electronica announced via Twitter[13] that his previously unreleased album, , was available for streaming on Tidal after the album had surfaced online two days prior.
In August 2021, Jay Electronica guest featured on the song "Jesus Lord" released on Kanye West's album Donda.[14]
Jay Electronica and Erykah Badu were in a relationship for five years and have a daughter together, Mars Merkaba Thedford, who was born in 2009.[15]
Jay Electronica had an affair with Kate Emma Rothschild, the wife of Benjamin Goldsmith, resulting in the breakdown of Goldsmith's marriage.[16]
Jay Electronica is a registered member of the Nation of Islam[17] and follower of Louis Farrakhan, whose sermons he sampled on A Written Testimony. The track "Ghost of Soulja Slim" from the album includes a reference to the "Synagogue of Satan", a phrase pulled from Revelation 2:9 often considered as an antisemitic slur. As a result, Electronica has been accused of antisemitism.[18] His verse on Noname's song "Balloons" also features numerous antisemitic dog whistles, including the Rothschild conspiracy theory.[19]
See main article: Jay Electronica discography.