2020 continues to surprise us all, for better or for worse. Following an unexpected leak over the weekend, Jay Electronica has finally unearthed his long-awaited album Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn), a project that the hip hop world expected to hear back in 2012. The project sees 16 tracks and additional features from JAY-Z, The Bullitts, LaTonya Givens, The-Dream, and more, as well as more familiar cuts like “Better In Tune,” “Letter To Falon,” and “Shiny Suit Theory” — a track that eventually made it’s way to A Written Testimony. Seeing the overwhelming acclaim from the album probably helped bring Act II to the surface officially, as Jay Electronica could be seen responding to his fans takes in real time.
The release of Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn) follows Electronica’s March release A Written Testimony, which also somewhat doubled as a collaborative project with JAY-Z — a decision that proved to make what is effectively Electronica’s official debut album that much more polarizing. Said to be created in 40 days and 40 nights, the project saw 10 cuts and, in addition to Hov and The-Dream, also saw an assist from Travis Scott on “The Blinding.”
Last year, Electronica’s engineer Mike Chav gave his take to DJ Booth on why, until then, Act II hadn’t yet seen the light of day:
“I don’t ask him, ‘So why didn’t you finish that album?’ We don’t really talk about s*** like that. But from knowing him and other artists, you can only work on s*** for so long before you get tired of it. Most artists don’t even listen to their music after it’s done. There’s a window where your interest is in it, and once that’s gone, you’re not going to go back and finish it. So I get it, the window passed for that.”
Press play on Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn) below.