Jay Electronica's 'Act II: The Patents of Nobility' Has Finally Been Released

It's been over 10 years since the album was first announced

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Oct 5, 2020

It was a shock to get a long-awaited debut album from Jay Electronica this year with A Written Testimony, and in an even more shocking development, a second complete effort from the enigmatic artist has now found its way online.

Jay Electronica's Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn) has now officially arrived through TIDAL after a leak of the album began circulating online over the weekend. You can hear the effort here on TIDAL.

The road to Act II's arrival begins in 2007 following the release of debut mixtape Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), when Jay Electronica teased a Christmas Day release that year. He would make the same claim again 2009, though the album would ultimately not arrive on either occasion.

In 2010, Jay Electronica signed to Roc Nation with the expectation that an album would follow. Singles "The Announcement" and "Shiny Suit Theory" would soon make their way around the web, though no full-length effort surfaced.

More talk of Act II's status throughout 2011 would lead to Electronica sharing a tracklist for the album in 2012. It remains nearly the same as the effort listeners now have in 2020, featuring samples of Charlotte and Serge Gainsbourg, as well as verses from JAY-Z and The-Dream.

Notably, the 2020 release does not feature a pair of appearances from Kanye West and a contribution from Diddy, which had both been listed upon the initial announcement. Along with "Shiny Suit Theory," Act II also features "Road to Perdition" and "Letter to Falon," which were shared in 2015 and 2017, respectively.

After being alerted to Act II's arrival through Twitter, Jay Electronica shared that he was "humbled by the love its receiving."

Earlier this year, Exclaim! named A Written Testimony one of the 33 Best Albums of 2020 So Far.
 

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