J-Live

J-Live was one of the few MC's in the 90's that stuck with his guns, even when they failed to bring him commercial success. He first debuted on an independent hip hop record label called Raw Shack Records with the soon to be classic 12" single, "Longevity." But the b-side won yet again, as "Braggin' Writes" proved to be the fan favorite. It was its nostalgic raw hip hop production quality and lyricism that pointed ahead to the future that made the record an underground hit. More 12" singles followed and rumors of J being signed to a major record label deal were later confirmed when promo copies for the groundbreaking tempo accelerating and deccelerating "Them That's Not" were released. But the momentum was broken when the label J was signed to, Payday Records, folded and left J label-less. His debut album, The Best Part was highly anticipated and with the label folding, it was inevitably bootlegged. One of the most mythical albums in hip hop for a long time, it finally saw a proper release in late 2001 on J's own Triple Threat Recordings label. His "very first second album" (as he called it in the liner notes), All Of The Above followed not long after in early 2002 and showed a much more mature side of J, as well as finding him taking on the majority of the production duties himself. The simultaneous release of two EPs followed in 2003: the vault clearing compilation Always Has Been and the all new Always Will Be which, again, featured J producing himself.

Album: The Best Part
Year: 1998/2001
Label: Triple Threat
Producer: DJ Spinna, Grap Luva, Prince Paul, DJ Premier, 88 Keys, artist
Best song: "Timeless"

A full on timeless hip hop album. And where the phrase "true school" earned its keep.

One of the most anticiapted hip hop albums since it was announced that J would be releasing an album, it was heavily bootlegged for a good three years before it saw proper release. Some of those bootlegged versions are very good and enjoyable versions of the album, but the best version and the one to get is the official release on Triple Threat Recordings. It replaces the "Great Emcee" dialogue skits between the songs and puts them all together over the instrumental for "Don't Play" at the end. It also adds the "School's In (Remix)" which in actuality is just the vocals from the original "School's In" over the instrumental for "Raw Footage." In addition, it adds one brand new (and incredible) track called "Epilogue." It's really the definitive version of an already spectacular album.
~Austin

Album: All of the Above
Year: 2002
Label: Coup d'Etat/Triple Threat
Producer: Joe Money, P Smoova, Ritchy Pitch, DJ Spinna, artist
Best song: "Like This Anna" OR "The 4th 3rd"

Sophomore jinx? Anything but. Who created that myth, anyhow?

You could see it looming after the inclusion of the song "Epilogue" on The Best Part: J-Live is getting old. And he's starting to think about more than just being the most clever MC in the game. That's where this album comes in. J-Live matures, we get a pristine record. It finds him taking on some interesting issues in a post-September 11th world. He addresses that issue specifically on the single "Satisfied?" with an incredible dub reggae styled beat provided by DJ Spinna. Elsewhere, we find J taking on issues like dealing with fame ("A Charmed Life") and religion ("The 4th 3rd" featuring Soulive's Eric Krasno belting out some pretty soulful guitar licks), amongst other things. His whole game was stepped up for this album and the result is a record that's slightly different in approach and takes chances his first album wouldn't. But it's even better than that album for the same reasons that it differs. Excellent.
~Austin

Album: Always Has Been
Year: 2003
Label: Coup d'Etat/Triple Threat
Producer: artist
Best song: "Hush The Crowd" OR "School's In"

Vault clearing EP of previously vinyl-only recordings

This is an ideal EP release for fans who don't collect vinyl. It clears the vaults of all of J's previously vinyl-only songs. And some of his best stuff is included. Pretty much the only thing it left out is the "Longevity (Remix)." Otherwise, all the J-Live calling cards are included: "Hush The Crowd," the classic "Braggin' Writes," "Can I Get It?," and the ditched Payday promo "School's In" (which is vastly superior to the remix included on the official version of The Best Part).
~Austin

Album: Always Will Be
Year: 2003
Label: Coup d'Etat/Triple Threat
Producer: artist
Best song: "Walkman Music"

Kind of good, kind of boring..

Up until this point, J-Live's production was something I really didn't have a problem with. But this EP, produced entirely by J himself, feels like outtakes from All of the Above. It seems like he's gotten into a formula and his creativity is suffereing because of it. There isn't anything really all that bad here but there's really nothing that desirable outside of "Walkman Music" (which itself grows old pretty fast). Not bad, but by no means lifechanging or even exciting.
~Austin

For underground metaphors, you can take me back to the main reviews page.