Last night marked the arrival of Jay Electronica's A Written Testimony, an album many have been unofficially dubbing Watch The Throne 2 over its heavy Jay-Z presence. And while there have been many opinions shared about the long-awaited album, some of the biggest impact arrived by way of the powerful closer "A.P.I.D.T.A."
A melancholic and emotional dedication to Jay Electronica's late mother, the opening moments are evident within the song's opening guitar riff. "I can't stop my mind from racing, I got numbers on my phone, pictures on my phone," raps Electronica, in the song's emotional climax. "The day my mama died, I scrolled her texts all day long. The physical returns but the connection still stay strong, now I understand why you used to cry sometimes we ride down Claybourne / You just missed your--you just missed your mama / Now I just miss my mamas."
And while there's no direct correlation, it was recently revealed during a livestream listening event that the song was recorded on the same night that Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, and seven other passengers passed away in a tragic helicopter crash. It's uncertain whether the somber news, which seemed to settle over the entire nation when it occurred, had any effect on Jay Electronica's studio session. But given the fact that somber bit of trivia was mentioned to begin with, it's entirely possible that the additional sorrow bled into Jay's creativity.
Check out the song above, as well as the revelation made in the live-stream clip below. Is "A.P.I.D.T.A" the most powerful track on A Written Testimony?
