Pre-Act II: Greatest Hits (compilation album) by Jay Electronica

I genuinely thought this man was the messiah for about 18 months. Then I felt let down by a lack of any new material. Now I just realise that his early output is fucking stunning. So many great hip-hop songs here (not to mention the last great Jay-Z verse), including 'Act I: The Pledge', which mixes enigmatic rhymes with samples from the Eternal Sunshine score, 'Exhibit C', which is one of my favourite songs of all-time in any genre, numerous Dilla beats that he absolutely murders, notably 'Renaissance Man' and 'Dimethyltryptamine', and a whole bunch of others. I like the pacing of this mixtape-cum-best-of; it keeps the tempo high, but isn't afraid to switch it up at the drop of a hat. I've listened to this more than I've listened to most albums, and I always find it a little weird when I hear the songs from here in any other context. I think that's a sign of a great album, which this is. Highly recommended. Can't wait for his debut proper, even if I no longer have the high expectations I once did. But even if it never comes (and it's been yeeeeeaaaaars), I'll always have this, a stunning portfolio of one of the most natural and downright greatest rappers to emerge in the last decade.