Shiny Suit Theory

's (pictured) verse on "Shiny Suit Theory" was sent by email as an effort to sign Jay Electronica to Roc Nation. At the beginning of his career, Jay Electronica would send demo tapes to American rapper Sean Combs' record label Bad Boy Records as an effort to get signed. In July 2007, Jay Electronica released his debut mixtape Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge). The mixtape has been described as his breakout project. After the release of the mixtape, Combs contacted Jay Electronica through video chat and then invited him to Miami the next day. Jay Electronica met American rapper Jay-Z by chance at a birthday celebration for Atlantic Records COO Julie Greenwald at The Spotted Pig. According to American journalist Miss Info, Jay Electronica knew Jay-Z was serious when he attached a recorded verse to his second reply email. At the time, Combs was trying to sign Jay Electronica to his own label. "Dinner at Tiffanys" was included on the October 2020 released of Act II after it leaked online. ==Composition and lyrics==

"Shiny Suit Theory" is built on a sample of "Aint Got the Love (Of One Girl on My Mind)" performed by The Ambassadors. The production features no drums. Jay Electronica's verse is based on advice given to him by Combs, who was actively pursuing Jay Electronica at the time to sign a record deal. ==Release and promotion==

On November 15, 2010, Jay Electronica uploaded "Shiny Suit Theory" onto his SoundCloud along with the track "The Announcement". In September 2018, the original version of the song was rereleased exclusively to Tidal. On March 12, 2020, Apple Music revealed the track listing for A Written Testimony through Twitter. The track listing, written in the Arabic language, contained "Shiny Suit Theory" with only The-Dream listed as a featured artist. Eric Diep of Billboard described the inclusion of the decade-old song on the album as humorous. In July 2014, Jay Electronica performed "Shiny Suit Theory" live with Jay-Z at The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. ==Critical reception==

In a November 2010 review, Tom Breihan of Pitchfork wrote that on "Shiny Suit Theory", Jay Electronica "finds a track just as off as he is." Breihan praised Jay-Z's verse, writing that "he can still rap his ass off when the mood strikes him." In March 2020, Andre Gee of Okayplayer wrote that though "[s]ome people rolled their eyes" when the decade-old song was included on the track list for A Written Testimony, it still deserved its place on the album. Gee expressed his opinion that the song still felt fresh. ==Credits and personnel==

Credits and personnel from A Written Testimony adapted from Tidal. • Jay Electronica – lead vocals, producer, composition, lyrics • The-Dream – featured vocals, composition, lyrics • Jay-Z – featured or uncredited vocals, composition, lyrics • Tony Dawsey – mastering • Michael Chavarria – recording • Young Guru – recording ==Notes==