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What does it take to be a great MCee? Lyrics? Cadence? Vocal tenacity? Craftsmanship? Or perhaps that all-encompassing umbrella term for rhyme proficiency we simply refer to as "skills"?For J-Live (a/k/a Justice Allah), the answer is "All of the Above", the new album from J-Live, in stores April 2 2002, preceded on March 19 by the 12" single "Satisfied" b/w "A Charmed Life". Having worked as a 7th and 8th grade English teacher in Bushwick, Brooklyn, J-Live is a masterful wordsmith with keen style and grace.As a testament to his belief in the effective power of booty-shakin', All of the Above features production from DJ Spinna, Joe Money, DJ Jazzy Jeff's Touch of Jazz and the illustrious J-Live himself. J-Live has been exemplifying greatness on the mic since 1995 when he was recognized by The Source magazine in its prestigious "Unsigned Hype" column while still a freshman English major attending SUNY-Albany. Such accolades would prove more than warranted later that year, when J's independently released debut track, "Braggin' Writes," became an immediate underground hit that sold an impressive 13,000 vinyl copies. Sales figures for "Braggin' Writes" were doubled in 1996 by J's follow-up, "Can I Get It,"which landed him his debut label deal on Payday/London Records. Because of major label consolidation, J's "first" full-length album - the now-classic, bootleg-plagued The Best Part -was never officially released on London. As a result, J's latest record, All of the Above, is one of the most anticipated hip-hop records of the past few years. What makes J's music so rare that thousands have bought his records and bootleggers can't get enough of him? Perhaps a track like "Satisfied?" will shed some light. As a lucid, post - 9/11 assessment of how the "NYPD caps" and "Pentagon stickers" "won't make the brutality disappear," J reminds us not to forget the issues that kept us "unsatisfied" in the past. His penchant for positive rhymes, a politically bent stance and a return to the craft of traditional hip-hop makes J-Live unique in his field. "There's not enough craftsmanship in today's hip-hop," J laments. "It's gotten to the point where kids are listening to records thinking, 'Okay, well this guy sounds just like him, so what's stopping me from sounding just like him, too?'If I'd had that type of mindset when I started rhyming, I'd have been finished, 'cause they weren't having that in '89!" |
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