For the last few weeks, we’ve been excited to see Mos Def, one of my favorite artists. Julia and I met our friend Adam at just after 8 p.m. outside the Nokia Theatre in Times Square. A line had formed that stretched the length of the block, around the corner, and a full avenue block past that. The line moved relatively quickly and we were inside around 9 p.m. The Nokia Theatre is slick and modern, with electronics on display throughout the lobby. We made our way into the three-tiered concert hall and found decent spots in the closest area to the stage.
The opening act, Jay Electronica, took the stage at roughly 9:45 p.m. In short, he was horrible. I’ve seen some terrible opening acts over the years, but he was right up there with the worst of them. He had no stage presence, so he repeatedly allowed himself to be manhandled by the audience, stopping numerous times to ask permission to speak despite being the one with a microphone. His music was horrible and it was immediately clear that nobody wanted to listen to anything he had to offer. The only exciting thing about his performance was an all-too-brief appearance by the wonderful Erykah Badu, during which he remained silent and diminutive. After giving up his final attempt to tell a story, Jay Electronica played a final song and quickly left the stage.
At 10:45 p.m., Mos Def took the stage. His show, as with his music and character, varied widely. For over two hours, he transitioned from hip hop, rock, funk, oldies, reggae, and many other genres of music. Sometimes he would rap, sometimes he would sing. Sometimes, he would have the lights turned low and play some of his favorite music without saying a word. He is an electric performer and shares a mutually beneficial relationship with the audience. Throughout the entire performance, images and video were streamed from an Apple laptop to a screen behind the stage. The images featured New York scenes and characters such as Yankee Stadium, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, graffiti, breakdancing, and more, all iconic of the culture of the city in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The show was great, although sometimes there was too much time between actual performances while Mos Def simply had the DJ play random music, which noticeably affected the crowd.
When we left, Adam drove us to Grand Central Station just in time to catch the 1:12 a.m. train back to Connecticut. We had a great night, but since Julia and I both have to be up at 8 a.m. tomorrow, we may be feeling the effects of it for a little while.
I wasn’t able to bring my camera, but I did manage to take a few photos with Julia’s smaller Canon SD450.
Erykah Badu.
The guy on the left is Jay Electronica.
Mos Def (blurry as hell).
It’s 8pm on a Sunday night in Times Square NYC. A line of hundreds forms around 45th and Broadway with no end in sight. Rapper Mos Def is performing at the Nokia Theatre, but you can tell that something in the air is different. Smack dab in the middle of brand-dominated Times Square, the authentic, non-conformist MC is set to perform along with online hip-hop phenomenon Jay Electronica who will open the show. Despite an era of bling-dominated and Soulja Boy “rap,” a creative powerhouse of Jay and Mos attracts a horde of people standing right across the street from where the powers that be decide what gets played on TV and radio stations nationwide– MTV.
I walk inside the venue and meet up with Sean D, one of my Facebook friends who is a 20-year-old Detroit native and Jay Electronica insider who describes his relationship with Jay as that of a brother. We then meet up with the rest of his crew, which include his 4 other Detroit teenage friends who have trekked 12 hours in a Jeep to spend a few nights sleeping in a crammed hotel room just to see Jay’s debut US performance. As self-proclaimed fanatics of Jay’s raps, Sean’s crew and I are pumped. We discuss how the show will go over with the masses then gather in a circle and start rapping lyrics of songs nobody in the building has heard of, attracting awkward stares from strangers but we could care less.
Producer Just Blaze gets on stage to set up his laptops so he can DJ for Jay, whom he has built a tight-knit relationship with as well. The crowd is impressed yet unsure of what to expect. Jay comes out late, hunched over with a hooded sweatshirt over his head and a cutout of Barack Obama’s face on the top of his head. It’s clear that Jay is bringing change.
When describing Jay Electronica to someone who has never heard of him or his music, one must communicate in a different vernacular. Jay isn’t hip-hop, he’s not a rapper, he’s not an mc, he’s a supreme being. He doesn’t make songs per se, but rather audio tracks that don’t follow any sort of convention you would be used to hearing. A person of his nature is truly rare and thus warrants an explanation far more complex than a rapper, entertainer, or writer. With that, I cannot describe him in words with justice. For the past twelve or so years Jay has been on a vision quest of sorts across the country, on a mission to better understand himself and the world around him. His rich experiences and observations accumulated through his nomadic travels form the backdrop of his raps on his first Internet release “StyleWars EP.” Up until about a year ago it was nearly impossible that someone would hear or care about Jay or his EP, and even more impossible to find online. That’s because Jay decided not to fall into the trap of taking the blue pill, and decided to decline all offers he received from majors like Bad Boy and Sony. R&B singer Erykah Badu eventually heard his music through a mutual friend, and decided to start her own label, Control Freq records, on the sole inspiration of Jay’s music, with Jay as the first artist signed. So far he hasn’t really released anything traditionally. His most legitimate release, the fifteen minute “Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (the pledge)” was distributed for free last summer via his MySpace which he hacked to change the layout. Act 1 includes three tracks, all of which use songs from the soundtrack of the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” with no added drums or rhythm. All his hype and tracks have been spread through viral communications such as online message boards and blogs linking to mp3 files that have been strategically released through certain mediums by Jay, a self-proclaimed techie. Little is actually known of this character, as he has no more MySpace page and has done only a few limited interviews with the UK BBC’s Gilles Peterson and URB Magazine.
Jay on stage is like Jay in person, and it turns out to be a blessing and a curse. As Jay’s 3d graphics of jotted words whiz by on the projector behind him, he puts his heart into his raps on the front of the stage. But his mic doesn’t work to well, and he doesn’t hold the it close enough. The sound guy in the back of the venue could care less and isn’t monitoring the levels, so he’s hard to understand for most. In-between songs he tried to talk to the audience as if they were in a conversation, but he hadn’t yet gained the respect from the crowd to earn talking time. He tries to tell a story that happened to him in elementary school but the crowd isn’t having it. Jay gets angry and threatens the crowd by saying Mos won’t perform if they don’t listen. This is where Jay’s emotions conflict with his performance. The crowd barely remains attentive until Erykah Badu comes out and sings the hook of one of Jay’s raps called “Victory is in My Clutches.” Jay talks some more, but this time the crowd listens as he proceeds to question the motives of mainstream media and rappers, asking them to step their game up. Among the names of rappers being thrown out, someone in the crowd yells out “Lil’ Wayne,” who Jay tries to defend as he describes the squalor of Lil’ Wayne’s neighborhood he grew up in. Jay continues to struggle with the audience’s reluctance, and shifts focus from himself to getting the crowd hyped for Mos Def’s performance next. You can sense his disappointment towards his reception as he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Jay leaves by angrily and confidently throwing down the mic as a picture of his face that is reminiscent of 50 Cent’s latest album cover fills the projection screen, the crowd is left more confused than dumbfounded. They weren’t ready.
Let me guess…this guy Googles “Jay Electronica” and for every bad review (of which I’m sure there are many), he posts his own account of what happened in his defense. Stupid.
you’re too stupid to understand what jay electronica tried to do last night that’s ok just move along…
What he DID do was fail to engage anyone in the crowd on any level. There comes a time when someone like him (and you) needs to realize that “music” doesn’t exist to illustrate how “smart” you are, but to enlighten and inspire. He sucked, nobody liked him, it’s okay, you can move on.
I was there, I listened, I gave him a chance. The fact that I was at a Mos Def show and not 50 Cent or something should indicate to you that I have a relatively developed concept of music that doesn’t suck. Maybe that’s why you work so hard to convince people like me that I didn’t “get it” when your pet project gets booed offstage.
What I do know is that nobody that I was with or saw there liked Jay Electronica. That is my opinion and most of the people in attendance agreed. You are allowed to like him all you want, go crazy, have fun, just don’t demean me when I don’t agree.
I love how some music fans assume everyone in any given group agrees with them. How do you know what most of the audience” thought? Did you take a poll afterwards? Did most of the people in attendance boo? If not, you’re guessing when you can really only speak for yourself or people who personally told you they didn’t like Jay.
And since when did being a Mos Def fan assure that someone has great music taste? You might have liked him in Italian Job for all we know…
Don’t be obtuse. He got booed off of the stage. He gave up on trying to speak to the audience, was visibly frustrated, performed a final (bad) song, and walked off. How much more evidence do you need that the vast majority of the audience did not like him? You’ll also notice that I referred specifically to the people I could see. Everyone I saw was busy sending texts, looking bored, or booing. Nobody was nodding their head or in any way showing interest in the performance.
And are you seriously going to insult Mos Def, the guy who was good enough to support your beloved Jay Electronica? He gave your boy a chance, the least you can do is acknowledge the fact that he’s a talented artist that deserves respect – Jay Electronica was good enough to do so.
hmm that sucks jay just needs to step up his game when it comes to performing because jay is one of the best mcs , in fact jay could eat mos def but thats just what i think and mos is ill too.
You can’t judge jay solely on this performance. If you did, you’d be making a big mistake. To understand his conflicts with the crowd you have to hear how unconventional and far left his music is… listen to ACT 1 and you’ll see what I mean: http://wmdeez.wordpress.com/2007/10/04/jay-electrography/
Pardon me, but what the fuck does him being “unconventional” or “far left” have to do with rocking a stage? Is this not hip-hop!?!? Not long ago a performance like that could end an MC’s career. But wait, Jay Electronica isn’t just an MC, right? He’s a super human enlightened alien angel with intangible powers and the divine inclination to save humanity and end the worlds problems…through rap. My bad.
Here’s the thing, I too was at the show…and guess what? I heard people…not just one or two…but several people rapping his lyrics along with him. And, furthermore, where were you when Jay E had the “texting” or “bored” audience participating in call and response? This is what I think: mafuckas who hadn’t heard of him before were waiting for the first opportunity to tear him down…cuz they was pissed that this man was gettin’ so much buzz. Point Blank. And all I can say to that is hot damn ho (ass bitches) shut the fuck up!
Re: hotdamnhoshutthefuckup:
You are an idiot. The ratio of people at the show who had heard of J.E. compared to those who were there for Mos Def was probably something like 1:25. The people you heard rapping were probably your friends (of which I’m sure you have multitudes). As for call and response, I was there and it was garbage. The people who did participate felt obligated due to the fact that they were at a concert. Also, the crowd did want to give him the benefit of the doubt at first, it’s not like people hated him from the start. I can almost certainly assure you that nobody there was “pissed that this man was gettin’ so much buzz” because most people there had never heard of this clown.
Well Brett you sure sound like you relate with the people that read (mostly past tense) your blog.
brett.. I feel you. The following is what Jay promised fans for his live performance. I am extrememly impressed with Jay’s music. However, I can not ignore the negativity he is getting about his NYC performance. Fanboys are blinded.
“It’s like a revue from the ‘30s or ‘40s that comes to town and for maybe three days in a week,” Jay explains. “You sit down and you’re served food and a curtain opens and I come out and talk to the people. A ventriloquist’s dummy might walk out of a wooden cabinet and perform ‘Voodoo Man.’ The curtains may open and you see me performing a song chained in a tank of water. I’ll be performing magic. It all builds. Even if someone didn’t like it, it will be an experience that will stick with them.”
He plans to debut the show in New York and New Orleans this year. Not that he’s in a rush.
“Most people wake up everyday and are worried about doing stuff based on time,” Jay says. “I used to feel like I gotta do this, this and that before this time, but I don’t feel that way anymore.”
Jay Electronica is the future point blank. This guy Brett is going to be one embarrassed mo fo when his real album comes out. Who the hell Judges an artist by a live performance??? Wake up a go to some blog’s and download some of his music a judge from that. So when everybody gets on his jock and u start feeling him don’t worry about it you could lke him too. Don’t be so fast to judge ground breaking art its a little more complex than that. Everybody makes mistakes Brett.
Rdcort:
I just don’t see it, nor will I be embarrassed by anything. If he comes out with the greatest album of all time, it still won’t change the fact that he choked big time in Times Square.
i too was there and i have video of his performance and i can truly say, that as a fan iwas severely disappointed. I went to see his U.S debut(i’d seen mos plenty of times prior) and had high expectations, reasonably so. At first jay thoroughly commanded the stage but things went down hill quick once he started ranting btween songs, he had way too much nervous energy and forgot that a new emcee has to first earn the crowds respect before he is allowed such liberties as storytelling and ranting. Needless to say, as jay’s emotions became more and more visible, the crowd started feeling hime less and less, after all a new york audience is a new york audience(even if it was like 20% “coffee crowd”) and they are exposed to shows on a daily basis and they demand perfection. Being that jay is a new emcee, the crowd got to him and it was an unfortunate end to his first U.S performance. As a fan, i hope Jay rebounds with the quickness and comes back to New York and shows us what he learned after the nokia event, i’ll still support and i hope he doesnt get too fucked up byt this all, disillusioned with New York or experience and ill sideeffects of the “Badu Curse”(lol).
peace to jay
oh yeah, WTF is a twilight SpeedBAll? and someone teach mos how to use a laptop.
MANNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!! this guy is indignant, yes? i mean, he’s on his own blog defending himself? i don’t know if it’s because he realizes now how hasty it was to jump on some guy because he and a crowd of people who didn’t know who he was didn’t like him, or if it’s just the realization that it’s kinda silly to tear an artist down in a blog in general. either way, man up a little, brett. it’s okay. people often make judgmental comments before getting the full story. …i mean, he got booed off stage by a bunch of people who didn’t even know who he was, right? you said it, not me. ;D
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