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A Written Testimony
A Written Testimony (Arabic: شهادة مكتوبة) is the debut studio album by American rapper Jay Electronica. It was released on March 13, 2020, through Roc Nation. The album follows the release of Jay Electronica's debut mixtape, Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), almost 13 years earlier. A Written Testimony was primarily recorded in 40 days, from the 26th of December, 2019, to the 6th of February, 2020. Lyrically, it is influenced by the doctrine of the Nation of Islam, and is thus described as an Islamic hip-hop record, with elements of conscious rap and psychedelia.
Most of the tracks on A Written Testimony feature uncredited appearances by Jay-Z, while Travis Scott and The-Dream make credited guest appearances. Louis Farrakhan, James Blake, James Fauntleroy, and other artists provide additional vocals. Production was primarily handled by Jay Electronica, who is credited on six out of ten tracks, along with Swizz Beatz, Hit-Boy, the Alchemist, No I.D., and Khruangbin, among others. Before its release, the album was supported by "Shiny Suit Theory", featuring vocals from Jay-Z and The-Dream, originally released on the 5th of November, 2010, and rereleased as a single on Tidal in September 2018.
The album received widespread acclaim from music critics, praising Jay Electronica's rapping and production, though certain controversial lyrics have been characterized as anti-Semitic. Commercially, the album debuted at number 12 on the US Billboard 200 and also charted in Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Belgium. It charted its highest on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking at number 8. It would also receive a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, although it would lose to Nas' King's Disease (2020). A Written Testimony would later be followed up by the albums A Written Testimony: Leaflets and A Written Testimony: Mars, the Inhabited Planet and the extended play (EP) A Written Testimony: Power at the Rate of My Dreams, all released in 2025.
Jay Electronica's debut mixtape Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), released in July 2007, was meant to be the first part of a trilogy, with the follow-up being set to be entitled Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn). In September of that year, Jay Electronica indicated that he planned to create both Act II and Act III. Following the official release of his hit single "Exhibit C", he announced on American music station Shade 45 that Act II would be released on Christmas Day 2009; American record producer Just Blaze confirmed shortly after that the album would miss this date.
In February 2010, Jay Electronica stated that he was planning collaborative projects with American rappers Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, and Nas. In August 2010, he stated that Act II would be released on his birthday, September 19, within that year. In November 2010, American rapper Jay-Z signed Jay Electronica to his record label Roc Nation and they released their first collaborative song, entitled "Shiny Suit Theory". The latter announced that Act II was completed in 2011 and later shared a track list the following year. The track list included guest appearances from Jay-Z, fellow rappers Kanye West and Sean Combs, American singer The-Dream, and English-French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, among others. The album was ultimately not released. Several songs included on the Act II track list have been officially released or leaked. After the entire album leaked, it was later officially released in October 2020.
Jay Electronica denounced the traditional roll-out of studio albums in 2017, stating "[a]n album is something that was created by corporations as a product to make money." In March 2019, he teased on Instagram that he may work with Jay-Z on his album.
On February 6, 2020, Jay Electronica announced that he had completed his debut studio album A Written Testimony. He recorded the album in "40 days and 40 nights", beginning on December 26, 2019. The track "The Neverending Story" was produced by American musician the Alchemist three to four years prior to A Written Testimony, as a result of a trip he took to Argentina with rapper Eminem. Jay Electronica and Jay-Z recorded the final track, "A.P.I.D.T.A.", on the night of January 26, 2020, when former NBA player Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. The former set an initial release date of March 18, 2020, which was 40 days after recording was completed.
A Written Testimony is a hip hop record, and features Islamic influence. It has been compared to Jay Electronica's earlier releases, due to the psychedelic production and minimal drums. The album incorporates elements of ambient and soul music, and samples of pop music. Fred Thomas of AllMusic described it as "a new step forward in the evolution of hip-hop." Rashad Grove of Consequence of Sound noted the "unorthodox sonic tapestries" of A Written Testimony. Despite the album being billed as a solo Jay Electronica project, it has been described as a collaborative effort due to Jay-Z's uncredited appearance on 8 out of 10 tracks, drawing comparisons to the latter's previous albums Watch the Throne (2011) with West and Everything Is Love (2018) with his wife Beyoncé. Jay Electronica raps in Arabic throughout A Written Testimony, with one line delivered in Spanish.
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A Written Testimony
A Written Testimony (Arabic: شهادة مكتوبة) is the debut studio album by American rapper Jay Electronica. It was released on March 13, 2020, through Roc Nation. The album follows the release of Jay Electronica's debut mixtape, Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), almost 13 years earlier. A Written Testimony was primarily recorded in 40 days, from the 26th of December, 2019, to the 6th of February, 2020. Lyrically, it is influenced by the doctrine of the Nation of Islam, and is thus described as an Islamic hip-hop record, with elements of conscious rap and psychedelia.
Most of the tracks on A Written Testimony feature uncredited appearances by Jay-Z, while Travis Scott and The-Dream make credited guest appearances. Louis Farrakhan, James Blake, James Fauntleroy, and other artists provide additional vocals. Production was primarily handled by Jay Electronica, who is credited on six out of ten tracks, along with Swizz Beatz, Hit-Boy, the Alchemist, No I.D., and Khruangbin, among others. Before its release, the album was supported by "Shiny Suit Theory", featuring vocals from Jay-Z and The-Dream, originally released on the 5th of November, 2010, and rereleased as a single on Tidal in September 2018.
The album received widespread acclaim from music critics, praising Jay Electronica's rapping and production, though certain controversial lyrics have been characterized as anti-Semitic. Commercially, the album debuted at number 12 on the US Billboard 200 and also charted in Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Belgium. It charted its highest on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking at number 8. It would also receive a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, although it would lose to Nas' King's Disease (2020). A Written Testimony would later be followed up by the albums A Written Testimony: Leaflets and A Written Testimony: Mars, the Inhabited Planet and the extended play (EP) A Written Testimony: Power at the Rate of My Dreams, all released in 2025.
Jay Electronica's debut mixtape Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), released in July 2007, was meant to be the first part of a trilogy, with the follow-up being set to be entitled Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn). In September of that year, Jay Electronica indicated that he planned to create both Act II and Act III. Following the official release of his hit single "Exhibit C", he announced on American music station Shade 45 that Act II would be released on Christmas Day 2009; American record producer Just Blaze confirmed shortly after that the album would miss this date.
In February 2010, Jay Electronica stated that he was planning collaborative projects with American rappers Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, and Nas. In August 2010, he stated that Act II would be released on his birthday, September 19, within that year. In November 2010, American rapper Jay-Z signed Jay Electronica to his record label Roc Nation and they released their first collaborative song, entitled "Shiny Suit Theory". The latter announced that Act II was completed in 2011 and later shared a track list the following year. The track list included guest appearances from Jay-Z, fellow rappers Kanye West and Sean Combs, American singer The-Dream, and English-French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, among others. The album was ultimately not released. Several songs included on the Act II track list have been officially released or leaked. After the entire album leaked, it was later officially released in October 2020.
Jay Electronica denounced the traditional roll-out of studio albums in 2017, stating "[a]n album is something that was created by corporations as a product to make money." In March 2019, he teased on Instagram that he may work with Jay-Z on his album.
On February 6, 2020, Jay Electronica announced that he had completed his debut studio album A Written Testimony. He recorded the album in "40 days and 40 nights", beginning on December 26, 2019. The track "The Neverending Story" was produced by American musician the Alchemist three to four years prior to A Written Testimony, as a result of a trip he took to Argentina with rapper Eminem. Jay Electronica and Jay-Z recorded the final track, "A.P.I.D.T.A.", on the night of January 26, 2020, when former NBA player Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. The former set an initial release date of March 18, 2020, which was 40 days after recording was completed.
A Written Testimony is a hip hop record, and features Islamic influence. It has been compared to Jay Electronica's earlier releases, due to the psychedelic production and minimal drums. The album incorporates elements of ambient and soul music, and samples of pop music. Fred Thomas of AllMusic described it as "a new step forward in the evolution of hip-hop." Rashad Grove of Consequence of Sound noted the "unorthodox sonic tapestries" of A Written Testimony. Despite the album being billed as a solo Jay Electronica project, it has been described as a collaborative effort due to Jay-Z's uncredited appearance on 8 out of 10 tracks, drawing comparisons to the latter's previous albums Watch the Throne (2011) with West and Everything Is Love (2018) with his wife Beyoncé. Jay Electronica raps in Arabic throughout A Written Testimony, with one line delivered in Spanish.