American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
recording artist
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
and
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Jay Electronica
Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...
. The song, produced by
Just Blaze
Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Blaze attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue his m ...
, was released to
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on December 22, 2009, as an EP with explicit, clean and instrumental versions.
Background
The song, produced by Just Blaze, samples
Billy Stewart
William Larry Stewart II (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist who was popular during the 1960s.
Biography
Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James ...
's "Cross My Heart". Jay has stated that the song was produced in only 15 minutes for the purpose of premiering a new song on
Angela Yee
Angela Yee (born January 3, 1976) is an American radio personality. She hosted the nationally syndicated morning show ''The Breakfast Club'' along with DJ Envy and Charlamagne tha God. She is on the Board of Governors of the We Are Family Fou ...
's show on
Shade 45
Shade 45 is American rapper Eminem's hip-hop station on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, Sirius XM Radio channel 45 and Dish Network channel 6045.
History
Eminem established his own channel, Shade 45, that plays uncut Hip hop music, hip hop. Eminem al ...
. The lyrics reference a time when Jay was homeless in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Despite not having an album or major label support, the song received airplay on stations like
WQHT
WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...
. The EP
cover art
Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...
Magnifying Transmitter
A Tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit designed by inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891. It is used to produce high-voltage, low-current, high-frequency alternating-current electricity. Tesla experimented with a number of differen ...
".
Remixes
The instrumental became very popular among hip-hop artists, with several rappers such as
Fabolous
John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...
,
Cassidy
Cassidy may refer to:
Personal names
* Cassidy (given name)
* Cassidy (surname)
People
* Cassidy (musician) (born 1979), lead singer of Antigone Rising
* Cassidy (rapper) (born 1982), American rapper
* DJ Cassidy (born 1981), New York DJ
* Jame ...
,
Crooked I
Dominick Antron Wickliffe (born September 23, 1976), better known by his stage names Crooked I and Kxng Crooked, (stylised as KXNG Crooked and pronounced "King Crooked") is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. He is best known as a for ...
,
Joell Ortiz
Joell Christopher Ortiz (born July 6, 1980) is an American rapper and a former member of the group Slaughterhouse. Ortiz grew up in the Cooper Park Houses in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, formerly signed to Dr. Dre's Afte ...
,
Bobby Creekwater
Antoine Raimon Rogers, better known by his stage name Bobby Creekwater, is an American rapper from Atlanta who is a former member of Shady Records.
B.o.B
Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years late ...
,
Childish Gambino
Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...
,
Twista
Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his Chopper (rap), chopper style of rapping and for once holding the t ...
,
Papoose
Papoose (from the Algonquian ''papoose'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in t ...
,
Game
A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
,
Lil B
Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, ...
,
Cashis
Ramone Johnson (born October 10, 1982), better known by his stage name Cashis (stylized as Ca$his), is an American rapper who was born and raised in Chicago, but moved to Irvine, California. He was most notably featured on the Shady Records ...
and
Big K.R.I.T.
Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he started his musical career in 2005. Af ...
recording their own versions of the song.
Mos Def
Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...
has performed the song live.
Critical reception
The song has received rave reviews from critics. ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' said, "'Exhibit C' is the most accomplished piece of 'conscious rap' this millennium — perhaps ever." Shaheem Reid of
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
.com said it "is one of those special hip-hop records that you hear and instantly love." Wes Flexner of ''
The Other Paper
''The Other Paper'' was an alternative weekly news publication that served the Greater Columbus, Ohio area from 1990 to 2013.
It was distributed on Thursdays and was known for local news and features such as concert and movie reviews, classif ...
'' says the song "has created a feeling that hasn't existed since
Common Sense
''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political argu ...
's 1994 single '
I Used to Love H.E.R.
"I Used to Love H.E.R." is a hip hop song by the Chicago-born rapper Common Sense. Released on the 1994 album ''Resurrection'', "I Used to Love H.E.R." has since become one of Common's best known songs. Produced by No I.D., its jazzy beat samples ...
' Both songs make everyone, regardless of their current role in life, remember why they fell in love with hip-hop." Henry Adaso of
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...
called "Exhibit C" the best rap song of 2009, saying it "embodies everything people admire about Jay Electronica — a combo of compelling confessionals and convincing boasts, delivered in a charismatic manner." On July 25, 2010
MTV2
MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global.
The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...
's Sucker Free Summit award show awarded "Exhibit C" with the Instant Classic Award. On April 22, 2013 Complex also gave the track the top spot on their "30 Most Lyrical Rap Songs of the Past 5 Years," calling the cut "a magical moment—one he nor any other rapper in the past five years could top."