J-Live started his career by releasing solid 12" such as "Longevity", "Braggin' Writes", and "Hush the Crowd", which earned him a spot in The Source's "Unsigned Hype" column.
Recorded mostly at J's own Triple Threat Studios in Philadelphia, The Hear After actually seems to have taken on a life of its own. Guest vocalist on the album, include up and coming artist, Kola Rock, Cvees, and the soulful sounds of Virgin recording artist, Dwele. The album features production by Floyd the Locsmif (Atl), Hezekiah, James Poysner (Philly), Probe DMS, Fire Dept., (NYC), Oddisee (DC), and J-Live himself. "The title is a play on words. People think of the here after as the after life or somewhere you go when you die. Like heaven or hell. Me personally, I see heaven as being at peace with yourself while you're alive. I see hell as the path you choose in life as opposed to a place you go after death. The album is called The Hear After because I'm at peace with myself musically, and I've been through hell to get that way. This is what you "hear after" all that has transpired so far. This is what I've been working to accomplish since the last album."
Like J's last two full length records, The Best Part and All of the Above, The Hear After covers a wide range of thoughts and emotions both musically and with its subject matter. "If you were to look at the whole thing, you would see a story line about an artist trying to maintain and expand his career and still be there for his family. That was the biggest struggle while making the record, and its no coincidence that it's a theme that becomes obvious listening to it. But there are songs about almost every aspect of my life from growing up in the city, to raising kids, touring heavy, building and teaching, politics, party and bullshit. I can't just spit about one thing for a whole record. That's not my style."
J-Live has been rhyming and mixing since the age of 12 but he has made much more of a name for himself as an MC than as a DJ. "I definitely focus on rhyming more. Growing up doing both it was easier on the pockets to be an MC. Records and equipment can get expensive. But I love spinning." One of the highlights of his entertaining live show is when he rhymes and beat juggles on the turntables simultaneously, performing his classic, "Braggin' Writes." J-Live is also known to produce beats.
J-Live has always used music to get his messages across. He explains, "I grew up listening to everything from BDP to NWA, to PE [[artist]Public Enemy], Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Nice and Smooth. Whether the music was pimped out, gangsta, militant or whatever, rappers had something important to say to kids like me. And I listened intently. As a 5%er, I can't imagine how much of an influence hip hop had on the way I see the world."
Case in point, J's favorite song on the album, "Audio Visual" is so descriptive it's a song "in 3-D". From the quirky, key accents to the thick-ass bottom running throughout the song, J-Live paints a colorful, picture of his life on and off the mic. "Brooklyn Public" is his ode to his days as an educator. Earlier in his career, J-Live taught middle school English/Language Arts in Brooklyn for a few years.
Making music for the walkmans as well as the Jeeps, J-Live made a mature, sonically sophisticated album. "I feel like I represent hip hop's middle class. Seems like everybody's either crying broke or screaming rich or both. I try to speak to the people in between. The everyday hard working fun loving hip hop heads."
Year Formed: 1995
Official Site: http://www.j-livemusic.com/
R.A.G.E.
J-Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The rule of Allah is God's equality
Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
But when my brothers stay physically and mentally trapped in a cage
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
The rule of Allah is God's equality
Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
But when my brothers stay dying of everything else but old age
Against the machine that come in between
Me and my other mothers siblings
That's caught up in the green and things
That you can get beyond food, comfy clothes, and a home
And so the streets they roam without a civilized dome
To realize that the traps is set
Hounds is loose, pigs is juiced
To put another neck in a noose
Without a second to lose
So powers abused and brothers are bruised
The devil's amused as squad cars cruise through
Ghetto's, where governments hold
Everything that you own to a level where your poverty prone
So half of us will sell whatever it takes to make papes
While the other half are customers with hopes to escape
As they hallucinate sealing our fate
Despite the fact that your legacy's great
They'd rather sit home and wait
While the means to survive and thrive are shut down
So those that know wrong but can't afford right
Say what now
Chorus
Against my babies fake educators
The lieutenants to the legislators that hate us
Consistently fade since our traders betrayed us
With the sadist plot to decimate and degrade us
Before we old enough to be first graders
Putting pins in my babies heads
He could have grown to be physically thoroughbred
But mentally dead
They hide the lies in the books that were meant to be read
In the schools that either ignore em or can't afford em
Now the bigger they come the harder they fall
But the younger they fall the harder it gets to stand tall
Cause the blind mans deaf son
Will be the dumb father of a blind child
Saying to hell with them all
With no family ties
So the next man's family cries
At the funeral cause somebody tries
The wrong brother with the wrong nine doing the long time
Where he learns that he committed the wrong crime in the first place
(Bust this)
He need to point the same gun
At the criminally insane justice
System that dissed him and kissed him goodbye
From the start
Cause his world view was based on a lie
The rule of Allah is God's equality
Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
But when a fight breaks out
Everytime there's some hip hop on stage
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
The rule of Allah is God's equality
Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
But when you talk trash like you hard
But your heart pumps lemonade
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
When it's war time and you don't know where to throw the grenade
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
When my babies said role models fall victim on the front page
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
When my brothers stay physically and mentally trapped in a cage
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
When my brothers stay dying of everything else but old age
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
In J-Live's song "Rage," the artist expresses his frustration and anger towards the injustices and inequalities present in society towards his community as a black man. The chorus emphasizes the idea of equality and mutual respect among human beings, but J-Live acknowledges that this idea is hindered by the traps set up by the system, the lack of opportunities, and the ignorance that blinds people from the truth.
The first verse of the song criticizes the system that sets up traps for black men, such as the police force and the government that deprives them of resources and opportunities, which often leads them to a life of crime or drugs. He also highlights the fact that poverty is a vicious cycle that affects half of the black community, where some will do whatever it takes to make ends meet, and others will become customers hoping to escape poverty. J-Live also talks about the fact that wrongdoers often blame the justice system for doing wrong to them, while the whole worldview of these individuals is based on a lie.
The second verse addresses the institutional racism present in the education system against black children, who are exposed to lies and propaganda about their community's history and people. J-Live calls out the educators and legislators who hate them and fade them out since their traders betrayed them. He emphasizes that the bigger they come and the harder they fall, that younger they fall, the harder it is to stand tall, showcasing the lack of support and resources present for young black children. J-live concludes the song with the powerful line of "My heart fills up with what? Rage!" which emphasizes the frustrations and anger that African Americans face in today's society.
Line by Line Meaning
The rule of Allah is God's equality
Allah's rule promotes equality among us
Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
I want good things for my brothers as I want them for myself
But when my brothers stay physically and mentally trapped in a cage
But when my brothers are stuck in difficult situations
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
I become extremely angry
But when my brothers stay dying of everything else but old age
But when my brothers die prematurely from various reasons
Against the machine that come in between
Against the system that separates us
Me and my other mothers siblings
Me and my other brothers and sisters
That's caught up in the green and things
That are consumed by money and material possessions
That you can get beyond food, comfy clothes, and a home
That aren't necessary for survival
And so the streets they roam without a civilized dome
So they wander the streets without structure
To realize that the traps is set
To understand that they're being manipulated
Hounds is loose, pigs is juiced
Police are aggressive and corrupt
To put another neck in a noose
To condemn someone unfairly
Without a second to lose
Without any time to waste
So powers abused and brothers are bruised
Those in power misuse their authority and our brothers suffer
The devil's amused as squad cars cruise through
Society's problems amuse the corrupt government
Ghetto's, where governments hold
Ghettos, where the government has control
Everything that you own to a level where your poverty prone
Controlling everything you own to keep you in poverty
So half of us will sell whatever it takes to make papes
Half of us will do whatever necessary to make money
While the other half are customers with hopes to escape
While the other half are trapped and seek to escape
As they hallucinate sealing our fate
As we imagine our destiny has been decided
Despite the fact that your legacy's great
Despite the fact that we have great potential and history
They'd rather sit home and wait
They'd rather be passive and wait for change to come
While the means to survive and thrive are shut down
While opportunities for success and growth are limited
So those that know wrong but can't afford right
Those who recognize what's wrong but can't afford better
Say what now
What can we do about it?
Against my babies fake educators
Against educators who deceive my children
The lieutenants to the legislators that hate us
The enablers of lawmakers who despise us
Consistently fade since our traders betrayed us
We consistently lose out because of our own kind betraying us
With the sadist plot to decimate and degrade us
With a cruel plan to destroy and humiliate us
Before we old enough to be first graders
Before we even reach first grade age
Putting pins in my babies heads
Damaging our children's minds
He could have grown to be physically thoroughbred
He could have grown up healthy and strong
But mentally dead
But instead, become mentally detached and hopeless
They hide the lies in the books that were meant to be read
They conceal truths in educational materials
In the schools that either ignore em or can't afford em
In schools that either neglect or cannot provide education
Now the bigger they come the harder they fall
The more powerful they are, the greater their downfall
But the younger they fall the harder it gets to stand tall
But the younger they are, the more difficult it is to recover
Cause the blind mans deaf son
Because the son of the deaf man is also blind
Will be the dumb father of a blind child
Will become a foolish father to a child with similar disabilities
Saying to hell with them all
Refusing to care about anyone else
With no family ties
Without emotional connections to others
So the next man's family cries
So another family grieves over their loss
At the funeral cause somebody tries
At the funeral because someone made a violent attempt
The wrong brother with the wrong nine doing the long time
The wrong person with the wrong weapon serving lengthy prison sentences
Where he learns that he committed the wrong crime in the first place
Where he realizes that he made a mistake from the very beginning
Bust this
Listen to this
He need to point the same gun
He should aim his weapon at
At the criminally insane justice
The corrupt and unjust legal system
System that dissed him and kissed him goodbye
The system that betrayed and abandoned him
From the start
From the very beginning
Cause his world view was based on a lie
Because his perception of reality was founded on falsehood
When a fight breaks out
When physical violence occurs
Everytime there's some hip hop on stage
Whenever there's a hip hop performance
But your heart pumps lemonade
But you lack the courage and toughness you portray
When it's war time and you don't know where to throw the grenade
When you're in conflict and don't know how to fight back
When my babies said role models fall victim on the front page
When my children notice their role models being negatively featured in the media
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
I become extremely angry
When my brothers stay physically and mentally trapped in a cage
When my brothers are stuck in difficult situations
When my brothers stay dying of everything else but old age
When my brothers die prematurely from various reasons
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
I become extremely angry
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
I become extremely angry
Contributed by Jackson C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.