153,356 fans get concert alerts for this artist.
Join Songkick to trackJay Electronica and get concert alerts when they play near you.
Jay Electronica (born September 19, 1976) otherwise known as Timothy Elpadaro Thedford is an American hip-hop recording artist and record producer from New Orleans, U.S.
Thedford started rapping after he heard his nephew Akeem Pryor rhyme when he was a young age and by the time he was 19 he had left New Orleans, U.S. to pursue his music career. During this time Thedford called multiple cities in the U.S. home including Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York but it wasn’t until he reached Detroit, U.S., where engineer Mike Chavarria introduced him to J. Dilla and Mr. Porter that Jay Electronica’s profile was raised.
Thedford’s own raps were distributed mainly through his MySpace page, which is where he made available his “Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)” in 2007, to significant praise. Just Blaze and Erykah Badu make cameo spoken word appearances on the track explaining how they came to know Thedford before he raps continuously over Jon Brion’s soundtrack to the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”.
As a result Jay Electronica’s “Style Wars” EP gained a lot of public attention, in January 2008 Giles Peterson dedicated 90-minutes of radio time to the rapper, and he has been described as a sort of hip-hop Jack Kerouac, for his elusive and mysterious character. The rapper is yet to release a full-length album and ex-partner and ex-collaborator Erykah Badu doubted he ever would, Thedford’s first two official singles to date “Exhibit A” and “Exhibit C” have been critically acclaimed tracks, the latter of which shot to the top ten in the iTunes Hip-Hop chart.
Thedford appeared at Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2010, and has continued his sporadic release of tracks including “A Million in the Morning” and “The Ghost of Christopher Wallace. He signed to Roc Nation in 2010 following an announcement from Jay-Z, home to other acts including J. Cole and Willow Smith.
“Act II: Patents of Nobility (the Turn)” is the long-awaited debut album of the rapper, which promises to feature popular-culture idols including Kanye West, Diddy, Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Jay-Z, and due to its elongated release has become one of the most anticipated albums in hip-hop.
Read moreJay Electronica, the enigmatic rapper from New Orleans who has long been tipped to be hip hop’s up and coming lyrical star, performed at the Camden Jazz Café back in 2010. Despite the fact that he arrived on stage almost an hour late, his sharp appearance and easy confidence on stage, combined with his frequent witty engagement with the audience, ensured that everyone there that night enjoyed a truly memorable hip hop moment. Jay Electronica showcased his tremendous skill and versatility by opting to perform much of his material acapella, a decision to which the crowd responded well, listening quietly to Jay’s lyrical and delivery talents. The climax and undeniable highlight of the show was his hit song Exhibit C, which he actually performed twice and which was met with enthusiasm by the reverent crowd in front of him. The rapper actually came down off the stage and performed the final verse of the song whilst walking through the crowd. The show also included a tribute to J Dilla which was very well received. Supported by DJ TJ the King, the entire performance felt intimate, energetic and raw, and it was an honour to witness him perform in such an environment!
Amazing show. Jay was electric (heheh). Seriously though, the energy he brought to Toronto was incredible. He quickly got off the stage and right into the crowd to be with the people. Then when he got back on stage, he asked everyone who wasn't afraid to come up on stage and rock with him while he performed Exhibit C.
And I haven't even touched on the fact that Common blew that place up when Jay was done. He was incredible.
Thanks to the God man for taking the time to come to Toronto and all the staff at Kool Haus for making it a great show. DJ Lissa Monét (@djlissamonet) held it down all night, she's great.
My only criticism is that the doors opened at 8 and Jay didn't get on stage til 10:30 (to no fault of his own, that's just how it goes with rap shows). It felt like the hype man was trying really hard to keep the crowd pumped for *so* long that the place was getting cold.
Overall, unbelievable show. Can't wait to see Jay again.
Jay Electronica held it down during his set. Luckily, the two openers were amazing, which distracted me from the fact that Jay didn't get on stage until a bit after 11:15pm (Was scheduled for 10:45pm).
Jay immediately kicked off the concert with 'Exhibit A,' and even rapped the last verse, acapella. That simply gave me the chills, because Electronica sounds exactly the same live, as he does on wax, so that was epic.
The concert overall was very short, 45 mins total, but what can you expect from Jay Electronica? Considering, he has yet to release an EP/Album, or anything of significance, since 2009, so I till take what I can get.
Jay Electronica is a throwback to the "Golden Era" of hip-hop, not just because of his lyricism and style of rhyming, but because of his interaction with his audience. He takes his interaction LITERALLY as he spent the overwhelming majority of his set in the audience. I appreciate this since I was in the area where he was performing, but I think it does take away from the experience of the other audience members. After his set was done, he remained among the crowd and took lots of pictures. I doubt that this is something other artists with his level of visibility would do. Overall, a great show AND experience!
Best show ever! Jay ripped it. He was hilarious, engaging, and fun! He vibed off the crowd the whole time. As usual, his MC skills were on point and he played several of my favs and some songs that I hadn't heard, but now love. I will see him any time he comes to Philly!
Want to see Jay Electronica in concert? Find information on all of Jay Electronica’s upcoming concerts, tour dates and ticket information for 2025-2026.
Jay Electronica is not due to play near your location currently - but they are scheduled to play 1 concert across 1 country in 2025-2026.View all concerts.
Next concert:
Last concert:
Popularity ranking:
Concerts played in 2025:
Touring history
| 2025 | |
| 2024 | |
| 2023 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2021 |
Most played:
Appears most with:
Distance travelled:
Get your tour dates seen everywhere.
Sign up as an artist
Log in to your account
