Introduction
Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica, is an American rapper, record producer, and songwriter from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Early life
Inspired by LL Cool J, Jay Electronica began rapping at the age of 10. He grew up in the Magnolia Projects in New Orleans and attended St. Augustine High School (New Orleans), a parochial high school for boys. He played football and played multiple instruments in the school's marching band.
Electronica left New Orleans on January 1, 1996 with the intention of moving to New York City. Early in his travels, while riding a bus through Atlanta, Electronica was struck by "all the now hiring signs because of the Olympics". He spontaneously exited the bus and began his infamous period of travels between major cities throughout the U.S.; Electronica is thought to have spent time, and honed his skills as an artist, in Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, and other cities with active hip-hop scenes.
Throughout his travels, Electronica studied the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, Louis Farrakhan, Malcolm X, and other thought leaders affiliated with the Nation of Islam. He has become a prominent member of the Nation of Islam and has made public appearances with other prominent members such as Wesley Muhammad and Wakeel Allah.
Career
Jay Electronica released Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) via MySpace which became wildly popular (the fifteen-minute piece was downloaded over 30,000 times) propelling Jay into the national spotlight. That success and the catalog(consisting of songs like Dimethyltriptamine, Victory is in My Clutches, etc.) he built to that point lead to Electronica joining the Rock the Bells Tour in 2008.
Later that year, Producer Just Blaze and Jay Electronica hand-picked songs for Guitar Center’s GAIN project, Fresh Cuts Vol. 3 and included a (previously unnamed) songwhich Just Blaze named “Exhibit A (Transformations).”
Just Blaze would later (Oct. 27 2009) debut Exhibit C on Tony Touch’s Sirius Radio programand 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 (to name a few).
A bidding war ensued with Jay Elec finally signing (November 12, 2010) with Roc Nation. Over the next decade, Electronica released several collaborations and solo songs.
On February 7, 2020, Jay Electronica announced via Twitter the completion of his album, A Written Testimony, which was recorded over a 40-day period. It was released on March 13, 2020.
Personal life
Jay Electronica and Erykah Badu were in a relationship for 5 years and have a daughter together, Mars Mekeba.
Discography
- A Written Testimony (2020)