Listen to Jay Electronica, “Holladay”

Remember how, in Back to the Future, when Marty McFly would do something that compromised his parents’ romantic story, his image in photographs would fade a little bit, and threaten to disappear forever? That’s what happens to Jay Electronica when he walks into Best Buy. The superlatively talented New Orleans native pops up now and then to tease his long-awaited debut album, Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn), but for all intents and purposes, he’s excused himself from the rap game. So even as Just Blaze reminds fans he has a “pretty much finished” version of the album on his iPhone right now, Elec is off in London with the heiress to one of the most powerful empires in human history. Today (Sept. 16), what seems to be another rough demo from the rapper has surfaced. “Holladay” doesn’t appear on the Act II tracklist Jay posted a few years ago, but the beat (which samples Diana Ross’ “My Hero Is My Gun”) and lyrics (some of which are cribbed from What the Fuck Is a Jay Electronica?!-era freestyles) are strong reminders that his train is running on its own schedule.