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/
The Best Part
J-Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
[J-Live]
MC's out there, head down and listen here
It's J-Live and I brought Premier
And the crowd don't +Hush+ no more they say yeah
Hell yeah! With they hands up like they don't care
True school styles light up the night like Times Square
It's the grand openin of a long career
That's been, planned and developed for about ten years
Let the scene blur out; selector, press rewind
Just to show 'em who flat top groove in eighty-nine
Thirteen, still lacking b-ball skills to shine
but I got mine when I went home to write rhymes
Mastered all possible tactics of pause mix
Saved up - got my first Gemini starter kit
Like Rocky - these hands train on the cheap shit
So every other DJ they was bound to skip
Meanwhile now, for every new joint I caught
My MC style developed at the speed of thought
So hip-hop was the vessel that convinced my heart
Space and time make today's sun, tommorow's star; The Best Part
Chorus: {*scratched*}
"Like this in the place y'all; it's like this y'all, ya don't stop"
"I make it happen" ... "On the mic"
"Do things for the kids" -> Prodigy
"Like this in the place y'all; it's like this y'all, ya don't stop"
"I make it happen" ... "On the mic"
"God Bless the child that can write his own rhymes"
[J-Live]
Ten years, ten crates and ten rhyme books later
My history, daily renewed on it's equator
Supreme mathematics is now the translator
As the stakes and the skills and the love became greater
For a artform to spread from East to Westside
The coast the hemisphere, look how hip-hop grew
But it's still the proverbial sad clown of music
Exploited by many, understood by few
I do the knowledge to the game from a bird's eye view
If I ain't have the stomach for it I'd have been passed through
Cause every level I examined from A&R to zigga zigga
prove a MC ain't got a God damn clue
So let the babies be great, break down the bare essence
and build upon styles that's dope and brand new
Let no man put asunder to what the Bronx create
Manhattan make, Brooklyn take, and peace to Queens too
Cause the strength of any nation always been the babies
Let 'em learn from the elders that was strong and smart
So hip-hop'll be the music that still don't quit
When the next batch of MC's prove to be; The Best Part
{Chorus} - cuts after 2/3rds
[J-Live]
Yo, yo, turn the music down, turn the music down
We gonna end it like this in the place y'all
It's like this y'all, and you don't stop
{*with hand clap only, no instrumental*}
Aiyyo; East to West I'm a contender with the best
And more or less you're a pretender just confess
Sell your mic and buy a bike because you're weak
And take a hike when the J-Live starts to speak
Save that shit for the toilet and watch me flush
My style's a snow blizzard, yours is just the slush
My rhyme's a redwood tree, and you're just sawdust
I'm like a pizza, and sheeit you're just the crust
{*instrumental kicks back in*}
So now you see the place I've been is the place I'm at
Dig up a seventh grade rhyme style and bring it back
So when you write your first rhyme tell me how you feel
Cause back then we wasn't thinkin 'bout a record deal
But now adays when a kid wanna MC
It's like just another job in the industry
So why you in it, for the pocket or the heart
Cause today's star gotta be tommrow's sun; The Best Part
{Chorus} - repeat to fade
The Best Part by J-Live featuring DJ Premier is a song that reflects on the evolution of hip-hop and the artist's trajectory in the industry. In the first verse, J-Live boasts his true school style with a nod to GZA and highlights that he has planned and developed his career for a decade. He takes pride in his MC style and DJ skills, which he has mastered over time through constant practice and hard work. The second verse reflects on the current state of hip-hop and how it has spread from East to West, but has been exploited and not understood by many. J-Live urges the importance of allowing the younger generation to learn from their elder's strengths and smarts and build upon what was created before them. The chorus brings the focus of the song back to hip-hop's roots, making it happen on the mic, doing things for the kids, and blessing the child that can write his own rhymes.
The song's title reflects the message of the song, emphasizing that the journey, struggle, and devotion to perfecting one's craft are the best parts of being an artist. It shows how those who work hard and truly love what they do will always stand out in the industry. The song is delivered with DJ Premier's smooth beats, highlighting the old-school vibes J-Live is referencing.
Contributed by Cooper E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@AndySagittario14
1. 00:00 Outside Looking (Produced by J-Live)
2. 01:49 Intro (Produced by Emmai Alaquiva)
3. 03:02 Got What It Take (Produced by 88 Keys)
4. 08:10 Don't Play (Produced by 88 Keys)
5. 13:17 Vampire Hunter J (Produced by Grap Luva)
6. 16:17 Yes (Produced by Emmai Alaquiva)
7. 19:48 Them That's Not (Produced by Grap Luva)
8. 25:01 Kick It to the Beat feat. Asheru, Probe.dms (Produced by Pete Rock)
9. 29:25 Wax Paper (Produced by Prince Paul)
10. 32:52 Timeless (Produced by Chris Catalyst)
11. 36:52 Get the Third (Produced by Chris Catalyst, Probe.dms)
12. 41:39 School's In (Remix) (Produced by 88 Keys, J-Live)
13. 46:51 R.A.G.E. (Produced by DJ Spinna)
14. 50:29 True School Anthem (Produced by DJ Spinna)
15. 54:52 Inside Looking Outro (Produced by David Kennedy, Emmai Alaquiva)
16. 57:00 The Best Part (Produced by DJ Premier)
17. 60:37 Play (Produced by 88 Keys, David Kennedy)
18. 65:38 Braggin' Writes Revisited (Produced by David Kennedy)
19. 68:56 Epilogue (Produced by J-Live)
@hugomirandaclaro
Easily the most underrated MC in the whole game.
@chelsea6671
It still amazes me that no label didn't want this back when J recorded it. Would've been the best record of 97/98 if it was green lit. I am glad it released in an amazing year like 2001. This is a fucking masterpiece, anyone that disagrees must reevaluate a lot of things.
@jasonvargas54
Back then the market was probably way oversaturated with small time artists like J-Live applying to labels, they probably just ignored the rest of them after signing a select few with hype already around their names.
You needed to know a guy who knows a guy to make it back then. For example, if it wasn't for Rick Rubin lying about the Beastie Boys being a huge hit and getting them to open for Madonna, they likely would have never took off to the extent they did and the Beasties would have never gotten back together after their first album LTI.
Hell, if it wasn't for Dre, SO MANY artists of today would not be as popular as they otherwise would have been, the biggest example being Eminem (though he did eventually make his own record label.)
@SymbolicSplenetic
Got this cd like 10 years ago for four bucks. Slammed the cash down on the counter and raaaan. Fools didn't know what they had.
@TySkeTchYT
How does this only have 400 views?
Just started checking out J-Live's stuff, and his shit is top notch.
@thehiphopdane6695
+TYSkeTchYT What's your favorite track on the album?
i gotta go with 'wax paper'
@TySkeTchYT
+TheHipHopDane oh man so many to choose from! I gotta go with 'them that's not'. It's so sick how the track keeps speeding up and slowing down. mad creativity on that one
@AndySagittario14
+TheHipHopDane Wax paper is my top too ;)
@mcleat
The Best Part, I'm a sucker for premo beats and I love the throwback to the intro bars.
@bourdieufan7433
best rapper beginning with j