A new Jay Electronica album appears to be in the works — and it could be a star-studded affair.
The enigmatic lyricist sparked excitement on Monday (October 23) by declaring it’s “ALBUM TIME” and sharing a snippet of a new song, which appears to be called “Leaflets.”
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In a video posted to Instagram, the Roc Nation rhymer hinted at his next project, seemingly titled Bismillah Boys. Bismillah is an Arabic term that means “in the name of God,” which occurs at the very start of the Qur’an and opens the Basmala, a phrase used by Muslims before starting “good deeds” (such as prayer) and most daily actions.
In his caption, Jay Elec tagged over 100 accounts, including fellow musicians like Beyoncé, Diddy, Jadakiss, 2 Chainz, Erykah Badu, Conway The Machine, Just Blaze, DJ Premier and The Alchemist.
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Also tagged were NBA star Kyrie Irving, comedian Dave Chappelle, actor Mahershala Ali, fashion designer Jerry Lorenzo and legendary radio host Angie Martinez, among many more.
While further details remain scarce, his fans and peers alike were certainly given the impression that a new Jay Electronica album is on the horizon.
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“Frequency of the light bearer!!!!! this!,” wrote Rapsody, who was among those tagged, while IDK let Jay know he’s down to collaborate by saying: “Send the open.”
Juicy J, Ty Dolla $ign, Hi-Tek and DJ Clark Kent also shared their enthusiasm to the potential news in the comments section.
Jay Electronica fans will know to take any album announcement with a pinch of salt considering the years-long delay behind his debut album A Written Testimony, which eventually arrived in 2020.
The follow-up to his breakout 2007 mixtape Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), the project was essentially a full-length collaboration with JAY-Z, who signed him to his Roc Nation imprint back in 2010.
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While fans had long been expecting the album to be called Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn), Jay Elec instead recorded A Written Testimony in “40 days and 40 nights” between December 2019 and February 2020.
The wait didn’t hurt, though, as the album was met with rave reviews — including a 4 out of 5 score from HipHopDX — while cracking the top 20 of the Billboard 200.
Since then, Jay Electronica has remained relatively active on the guest feature circuit, popping up on songs with Kanye West (“Jesus Lord”), Westside Gunn (“Free Kutter”), Swizz Beatz (“Khalas”), Curren$y (“AD6”) and Vic Mensa (“The Weeping Poets”), among others.
His recent appearance on Noname’s “Balloons” stirred controversy as the Chicago native was criticized for including what some felt was an antisemitic verse on her sophomore album Sundial.
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Noname refused to apologize or take responsibility for someone else’s lyrics, though.
“Here’s the truth. No, I’m not antisemitic,” she wrote in a statement. “I don’t hate groups of people. I am against white supremacy which is a global system that privileges people who identify as white. I’ve been clear about this for years.
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“I’m not going to apologize for a verse I didn’t write. I’m not going to apologize for including it on my album. If you feel I’m wrong for including that’s fair. Don’t listen. Unfollow and support all the other amazing rappers putting out dope music.”
She added: “Your disappointment truly means absolutely nothing to me and I say that with love.”
