Ahhhhhhh....The memories. (4.5 Stars)
This album came out when I was a college senior in VA (April '02). I was delivering pizzas at the time and I stopped by Plan 9(a local spot) to buy some new material during my break. I saw this album sitting in a bin marked "Employee Favorites". I saw it was a hip hop album, but I didn't know who J - Live was. So I said "what the hell" and I bought it. Now, this album is in my favorite 25 hip hop albums ever (see my listmania list). There aren't many flaws on this album. If you need a break from "hip pop", then give this album a listen. You won't be disappointed. The beats are on point and the lyrics are straight fire. You can't miss with this album. If you're a "hip pop" fan that wants to expand your library a little, this album will fit in nicely. It has an old school feel to it, but it's still hot. J Live is a multidimensional MC. "One For The Griot" is storytelling at its best while he takes a well known hip hop saying and turns it into a love song about a girl named Anna on "Like This Anna" and on "MCee" he raps the whole song using words that start with M and C. J Live is an emcees emcee, he can do it all.Personal Favorites: Satisfied?, Interlude 1 (I'm A Rapper), One For The Griot (my favorite), Travelling Music, MCee, A Charmed Life, & Nights Like This
I've heard this all before...
With reading all these awesome reviews I was looking forward to receiving this album, and now i'll probably be putting it up on eBay sometime soon.
To put it rather bluntly the album bores me. I mean haven't we basically heard this all before. Nothing really original or innovative. I don't think his lyrics are all that witty, and the topics he speaks about are all commonplace. The only other time I've heard J-live was in Dan the Automator and Prince Paul's Handsome Boy Modeling School. In "The Truth," he is so witty and uses a common law theme throughout the track. It was one of the best rhymes I've heard. I was expecting more of this, but it is few and far between.
The production is pretty solid with some decent scratching. J-Live definetly has skills, and comes out with a solid release, but he brings nothing new to the hip-hop table in terms of production, lyrics, or delivery.
The Real
This album was off the hook! Every track is crazy. This cat is hot. One of the true underground sensations. You want some real music? Then cop the album!!!!!!!!
Unbelieveable
This album was off the hook! Every track is crazy. Watch out for this cat, he's definitely makin some real noise. Cop the album!!!!!!!!
J-Live is the meaning of an MC
The whole production of this album is flawless. Lyrically he is brilliant. The beats are done by an array of skilled producers including himself. As soon as the album starts you know you are not listening to the average MC. If you want too know what a MC is buy this album.
The understated East Coast hip-hop messenger J-Live delivers the goods on his latest indie release, which may lack big-budget studio acumen but still contains some gems that will rock the house, and make you think. He may not have the big-time star power of Nelly or Jigga, but records like this show why J-Live gets serious love in the underground scene. With a sexy but serious vibe that places it in the same camp as records by fellow alt rappers Mos Def and Common, All of the Above straddles the fence between somewhat preachy odes on the state of hip-hop, à la the emphatic "Do That $#!%," and playful love poems, such as the bouncy "Like This Anna," which brings to mind the classic days of A Tribe Called Quest. Sometimes J meanders, and he's not helped by an often subdued production, but on cuts like the moody "Traveling Music" his passion and power shine bright. --Amy Linden
