First let me say, I do admire Just Blaze as a producer
and someone who has had his finger on the pulse of the
hip hop industry for some time. With that out of the way,
I make this statement...Just Blaze may wind up being the
new Dr. Dre to the untrained eye. And not in a good way.
I don't know what else to say given the fact that right now,
Just has an artist under his wing, Jay Electronica who could
potentially re-shape the landscape of hip hop with regards
to pure lyricism. And with two months left in a year that
has seen remarkable albums from all corners of music, all
we have out of Jay Elec are freestyles, guest spots and a
couple of ballyhooed singles. The debut album seems to be
on a distant horizon. And it's frustrating. Which begs the
question, why is that the case? From interviews, you can
tell that Jay wants everything to be perfect. This is where
Just has to step in and say, 'Bump that. We need to keep
the fire going. People want your music.' I don't see that
producer's nudge, visibly or in a subliminal sense. That
leaves Jay Electronica and Just Blaze in a dangerous spot.
MC's are artists, and they have a right to want to ensure
their work is great. But they also can't be allowed to get
in their own way. That's the path Electronica might be on,
and Just has to step in and make sure he doesn't squander
his limelight.
I think a lot of people remember the Saigon situation. An
MC with talent, who was hungry, who had a compelling
backstory. Unfortunately, he wound up with Atlantic Records
and that situation became ugly. Now Saigon is finally set
to release his new album in February and a new EP in the
next week five years after the fact. Just Blaze did step in
and work to get him released with ownership of all of his
masters which is a considerable victory. But it should have
never gone down like that. Just could wind up being placed
in the same category as Dre, who lately has been shilling
everything except Detox, years beyond schedule. And it
would be unfair to a point. This is where Just Blaze needs
to get Jay Electronica in the studio and keep him there
until there's enough material to have TWO albums debut
if they wanted. I know he's quiet about his movements,
but this isn't the time to lay back. You went to Nepal to
shoot a video trailer, dude. Falling back in the cut is NOT
an option. Jay Electronica has the talent to be a great MC,
but if there's no motivation, no push he could very well
wind up like Last Emperor and others like him. And it could
cast a bad light on Just Blaze's managerial skills. Not a good
look when weedcarriers are seen as platinum babies in
the record industry.