The holy grail of rap albums, Jay Electronica’s shelved debut, Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn), has officially been released on Tidal after ten years of waiting. The Just Blaze–produced album was Jay El’s follow-up to 2007’s Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), his hit debut mixtape, but it was delayed indefinitely. He instead released A Written Testimony as his debut album in March 2020. But after the entirety of Act II appeared online over the weekend, the rapper tweeted that he was just going to drop it. “Please be patient w us, we are working to clear samples and have this up on Tidal asap,†he tweeted on October 4. “Thank You All.â€
Act II has been anticipated since Jay Electronica signed to Roc Nation in 2010 and released “Shiny Suit Theory,†featuring Jay-Z and The-Dream, which would later be on A Written Testimony. In 2011, he said Act II would “soon come,†and, in 2012, he dropped a track list that included Kanye West. Though 2020 fans were initially skeptical, the love for Act II began pouring in, especially after Just Blaze confirmed the legitimacy of the leak. “Started to make the rounds a few days ago then went full on last night,†he tweeted. “Just checked a bit of it. It’s not the final version at all but yeah.. it’s real.†Mysterious as ever, Jay Electronica deleted several tweets thanking fans for the support but kept one that reads, “Allah is indeed the best of planners. Humbled by the love it’s receiving.†Listen to the ten-year-old album now and, uh, maybe watch out for the next sign that the end is nigh.