L'ORANGE / KOOL KEITH - "Time Traveler" (Ft. J-Live)

Rising producer L'Orange knows a thing or two about flipping soul samples to great effect and the one and only Kool Keith knows a thing or two about an abstract thing or two. Since his days in Ultramagnetic MC's Keith has produced and released countless albums, some classics, some decent ones and straight up duds and its usually up to the producer he picks. His work with Dan The  Automator on "Dr. Octagonecologyst" is one of the finest alternative hip-hop albums of the mid-'90s, his "Sexx Style" LP with Kut Masta Kurt was way ahead of its time, the largely self-produced "Black Elvis Lost in Space" was definitely a great hip-hop parody. But then there's also weak shit such as "Dr. Octagon 2", the sickening "Party in the Morgue" and the forgettable "Love & Danger". But no matter what Kool Keith, Dr. Octagon, Spankmaster, Dr. Doom, or whatever he chose to call himself weill always be a legend and I'm sure still have at least a couple of classics left in him. And as for L'Orange, who is pretty new to the scene, he really impressed me with his vintage soul samples and boom bap drums on projects like "The Orchid Days" and his recent "The Night Took us in Like Family" with emcee Jeremiah Jae.

Still these guys seem like a kind of strange collaboration to say the least, but that doesn't stop Mello Music Group for bringing them together for an album called "Time? Astonishing!". It all started on a track from the MMG compilation "Persona" called "Sometimes I Feel", and the chemistry was evident. I guess it was not long after this that the duo started recording more music which evently turned into a full body of work. The first single is called "Time Traveler" and features another favorite of mine in J-Live. Can't wait for this project for sure. Check out the video for "Time Traveler" up top and peep "Sometimes I Feel" fom "Persona" below.

J-LIVE - "I Am A Man (American Justice)"

J-Live on of the best, smartest and politically correct emcees in this hip-hop field of ours brings out his latest single "I'm A Man (American Justice)" and it's an absolute beast which is an open letter to abusive pigs. Some of my favorite lines right here (though the entire song is full of gems): "We're blacks and ya'll cops, no apologies/ But apologists say not all police.... Shhhh/ Please, when you're treated less like a human by a beast, it doesn't matter/ It's the whole beast or nothing but the beast/ If it's systematic, pandemic and you don't even have the decency to condemn it? God dammnit". Produced and mixed by J-Live, you can purchase the single (with instrumental, main and clean). Now if only radio would have the guts to play this type of music but of course they don't want the people catch any conscious messages. Let's hope we'll get a new J-Live album soon enough; I loved "S.P.T.A." and "Around the Sun" definitely had it's moments (though I think a short album like that should be at least 75% ridciolously dope - lke the be best songs on "The Best Part" or "All Of The Above" . Oh Well, J-Live is always the fucking man!

[Out Now] J-LIVE's "Around The Sun" CD

A new J-Live album is always something of an happening, and as much  a champion the teaching lyricist and DJ has always been a champion for physical releases, whether it be CD:s, 12":s vinyl LP:s, EP:s or even mixtapes it came as a bit of suprise that he choose to put out his sixth full-length "Around The Sun" as a strictly digital release last year. The 12 track album, which featured 'Live gettting busy over stellar beats by Korede, DJ Spinna, Oddisee, J-Live, DJ Nu-Mark, The Audible Doctor and Illustrate, was made available as a digital download (with the option for free streaming) via Live's Bandcamp on April 29. Now finally, J-Live has pressed up a limited amount of CD:s featurng all tracks that can be bought for 12 $USD here, while simultaneosly directed and released the first single from the album, so peep that and hurry up and buy all you diehards! 

[Video] SLIMKID3 & DJ NU-MARK - "Boom Boom Fiya"

The second single from the extremely highly anticipated full-length project from former Pharcyde member's SlimKid3 and the extraordinary DJ Nu-Mark is here and it's called "Boom Boom Fiya". It doesn't quite grab me as the first leak with Del and Murs ("Bouillon") but as I know from "Broken Sunlight" you really need to hear the entire album in its entirety to truly get how truly brilliant it is. The tracklisting is looking serious to say the least and August 28 is the date! Pre-order the wax from Delicious Vinyl.

Side A
1. Work Hard (featuring K-Natural)
2. Let Me Hit
3. I Know, Didn't I (featuring Darondo)
4. Fade To Black (featuring J-Live)
5. No Pity Party

Side B
1. What Are Words For
2. King (featuring Diamond D & K-Natural)
3. Bom Bom Fiya
4. Godzilla Or Gamera
5. Bouillon (featuring Del & Murs)

Side C  & D- instrumentals

[Album] J-LIVE - "Around The Sun"

 One of my most anicipated albums of the year is J-Live's "Around The Sun" which we so far heard some terrific singles from. Now the album is out and can be purchased (and stream) from its Bandcamp page or iTunes. It seems that this is a digital release only, which is very unfortunate, since I can't find any pre-order links at UGHH or Fat Beats. I really hope they eventually will give it the release it deserves because this is a tight album no doubt; there are a couple of filler tracks, and a track or two that isn't all that special. But overall this is very good, J-Live ges it in as usual, and as with his clever writing you know you'll need to hear this several times before you really catch up (as recently happened to me with Pharoahe Monch's excellent "PSTD" outing just recently). Tanya Morgan makes inspired performances, and the same goes for Homeboy Sandman and Boog Brown. Complementing J-Live's impeccable writing talents and cuts, his gripping voice and flow, is an array of ill producers who've given 'Live classics to work on before. I'm talking about the talents of DJ Spinna ("Equionox)", Illastrate ("The Fun Razor Remix"), Oddisee ("Money Burns", "Worlds Apart""), DJ Nu-Mark ("Walk LIke"), Audible Doctor ("Hang On High"), PJ Katz ("City to the City") with the rest of songs produced by That Guy With The Glasses himself. So be sure to check this one out, if you're a J-Live fan I sincerely doubt you are not going to feel strong about this one as well. TURN IT UP!! (Remember that the emberded player below start as track 11; just rewind to track one or click here if it doesn't work at all).

J-LIVE - "City to City" (Ft. Tanya Morgan)

You know I'm a huge fan of the work of J-Live, a.k.a. The Triple Threat himself, and currently he is working on much anticipated upcoming album "Around The Sun". The recently released Tanya Morgan blessed single "City to City" is the third single from the project and just like the previous outings "Money Matters" and "Not Listening", this is another ill track that really makes me looking forward to the 12 track LP which drops on April 29. Check out the previous singles here where you also be able to stream the entire LP as soon as it's available (of course you'll found an embeded link on The Lost Tapes as well).

J-LIVE - "Not Listening"

The second single from J-Live's upcoming album "From The Sun" following the Oddisee produced monster "The Money". This one's produced by Korede and will be available along with the rest of the tracks on the album after it's April 29 release. It's not as ill as the first single, but 'Live spits some inspired bars for sure and the beat is decent. Might be a grower in a full-album context!

[Video] J-LIVE - "Money Music"

About a month ago I posteed the official streamable single of J-Live's lattest collaboration with producer Oddisee, two always interesting artists who's "Money Music" is an extremely fat track that hip-hop heads will love. The song's release also came with the announcement of a forthcoming J-Live album entitled "Around The Sun" which hopefully will be out soon. In the meantime peep the official video for this beautiful meeting between 'Live and Odd. TURN IT UP!!

J-LIVE - "Money Matters" [prod. Oddisee]

Not only does the new single from J-Live pack a hard punch, as it sets up the highly skilled verbalist with the always impressive Oddisee, but it also comes with the announcement of 'Live's 6th full-length album being on the way. Titled "Around the Sun", the LP is slated for a spring release so stay tuned... 

J-LIVE - "Money Matters" [prod. Oddisee]

The teacher's back!! And i'm not talking about KRS-One, but the always thought-provoking J-Live who doesn't really drop that many singles but whenver he does release one, you can count on it being quality. For "Money Matters", J gets in touch with Oddisee who creates a nice jazzy funk groove of a backdrop to enhance the lyrics. Good news is that this is the lead single from an upcoming J-Live album called "Around The Sun", due out next spring... Stay tuned for more info and music!

[Album] YAMIN SEMALI - "Senior Dues: Yen Dollar Music II"

J-Live protogé Yamin Semali is back with another full-length digital release, that might just be his best release yet. "Senior Dues" still captures the essence of Semali's soulful style, but much of it is rawer, harder and more agressive than previous releases, both from a lyrical and production standpoint. Once again the Atlanta emcee is handling the bulk of the production, with the exception of tracks 1 to 9 produced by Dublohskytzo, track 5 by Illastrate, 10 by Sam Brown and track 15 co-

produced by Count Bass D. Guest features on the 15 track project include several big underground names like J-Live, Kurupt, Boog Brown, Senor Kaos, Count Bass D, and a few others. You can purchase the download by naming your own price, or stream it for free via Yamin's Bandcamp.

[Mixtape] J-LIVE - "HOTvsDOPE: Fall 2013"

J-Live, one of the most potent triple threats the culture have focuses on his DJ skills when bringing back his "HOTvsDOPE" mixtape series for another installment. Featuring new music by RJD2, Tanya Morgan, Oddisee, Eminem, Lord Jamar, J-Live himself, Black Milk, Pusha T, and many more, the tape is a good overlook at a lot of the dopest recent material, skillfully mixed by J to the Live.

Yamin Semali - "Another Way" (Ft. J-Live, Boog Brown & Joe D.)

Those of you who check The Lost Tapes on a regular basis should be well aquainted with the name Yamin Semali by now. A protogé of J-Live, he's a talented emcee who often lets his skill manifest over laid back, introspective grooves as heard on his self-titled debut album last year. Now he's back with another project - the upcoming LP "Senior Dues" drops on December 7. Guest features include Kurupt, Big Vision, Count Bass D, Small Eyez, and more. The more part includes J-Live, Boog Brown, and Joe D. who joins Semali on the lead single from "Senior Dues", an Illustrate produced winner called "Another Way" that I can see get a lot of play. You can stream below or download here.

J-Live - "Heaven Freestyle"

J-Live always brig the heat, whether its through his many solo albums, his live shows, and his many cameos and of course his very skilled prouctions. I've been a fan of J-Live since he debuted with "The Best Part" and "All of the Above" and has continued to be so throughout the years. Following his somewhat overlooked "S.P.I.T." LP, he's been a lot of HQ "cover songs" of hip-hop classics. I'm talking his personal takes on masterpieces by Diamond D, Brand Nu, The Roots, and Gang Starr. For his first entry in his classic freestyle series this season comes with a more recent track; here J takes on Jay-Z's recent "Heaven", produced by Timbaland and J-Rocc. A diferent sound for the former teacher turned lyrical rapper but I strongly recommend a listen. This will appear on 'Live's forthcoming mixtape "This is Chess not Checkers" so stay tuned for more info + download.

RJD2 Ft. J-LIVE - "Her Majesty's Socialist Request" [Remix]

RJD2 used to be one of my favorite instrumental hip-hop guys back when "Dead Ringers" dropped, but since then some of his material has been fantastic and others very lackluster if you ask me. This new remix of his "His Majesty's Socialist Request" fall in the former category, much thanks to a solid verse by the always solid MC J-Live. From what I gather this is a remix of an RJD2 single, produced by Candy Panther, but who cares, it's sounding ill!

DOWNLOAD DIRECT (w. mail entry)

STREAM @ SOUNDCLOUD

J-LIVE - "The Fun Razor"

New J-Live is always more than welcome, and his first official single in 2013 is called "The Fun Razor". Packed with the usual tight delivery, double entendres and complex metaphors, the former teacher here continues his mission to do what is even possible with the english language. In the meantime, I can also announce that Mr. Live has opened up a new webpage for all his followers, RealJLive.com, and he's also promising a lot of new music soon to come so stay tuned. This new single sees the triple threat going all out, as in Produced by J-Live, cuts by J-Live and vocals by J-Live. Stream below, but if you want to give the $1 it cost to support, do so at Bandcamp . Enjoy!

[Comp] J-LIVE - "THE DJ FAVORITE"

It's been way to long since I hit y'all with a serious compilation, so I figured it was time. Today the spotlight is on one who's been an unsung heroes of the underground for years; never adjusting to what's hot on the Billboard, instead always focusing on and tryinng to evolve the hip-hop music he truly love and grew up on. I am of course talking about J-Live, also kown as a so called "Triple Threat"; meaning he's an incredible emcee first and foremost, but he's damn good and serious about his business as both a DJ and a proucer, which is something that has been proven time and again. Live's been dropping immaculate records since the mid-'90's when he broke through wiht the 12" undergroud classics; "Longevity" B/W "Braggin' Writes" that earned him some exposure in magazines like The Source and still today holds up as a hip-hop masterpiece.

The Tracks:

Being his first single, I wanted to start from the beginning without becoming to predictable; the first track is just"Longevity", but rather than the OG mix I went with the 12" only "Headrush Mix", which to me is equally ill with itsagressive bassline, turntable wizardry, and that addtive guitar riff, allowing to The Teacher's hunger really shine through; back then not too many fucked wih J-Live when it came to lyrics and delivery although he never got the breakthrough he deserved until years, and years later. The use of Sister Nancy's classic "Bang Bang" has been done to death but it's so dope that it adds nothing but pleaseure here. This is followed by a newer track, a 12" track only released in DJ Nu-Mark's name, and dating back to 2003. Live and Nu-Mark has collaborated several times, but this is one of their finest moments together, and as expected it's a smooth cut with a lot of jazz esthetics incorporated into the mix; and of course J-Live sounds great over this type of production, showcasing his immaculate songwriting skills.

When putting together my compilations, I like to provie a good balance between the smooth stuff and the hardcore ish, which I find is the best way to sequence if the songs have at least a few common denominatrs. Therefore it was a no-brainer inserting the beautiful "Vacation", a guest feature by J-Live on Jazz Liberators album. This is an all aroun chill out song, J sounding great over this heavy-layered production of vibes, pounding bass, Rhodes and guitar licks. This is followed by a short interlude, featuring a nice jazzy beat with a female singing. All in all it lasts about 40 seconds and works great as a skit on this album-style comp. But it's time to return to the essence of hardcore hip-hop and J-Live's apperance on the first "The Magnificent" LP, with one of my personal favorites - "Break It Down", as it puts the producer, DJ and MC at the forefront by all means neccessary. J kills his verses, dissing people that can't get into his complex rhyming style while spitting some real abstract shit; you might have to rewind this a few times because there's some real clever shit bening spat here. Jeff's beat is simply perfect but the real highlight is the turntable intermission that appears between each verse; showcasing the skills of legendary turntable wizards such as DJ Q-Bert, Jazzy Jeff, DJ Revolution, and a whole lot more; Give the DJ some!!

When it came time about six years later to make another album in the Beat Generation series for Jazzy Jeff, the previous collaboration with the label guaranteed him a spot on 2007:s concept LP "The Return Of The Magnificent". While the new collabo with J-Live got a slightly smooth qualithy, it's by all means a definite headnoder; Jeff's beat is uptempo, heavy on the bass, peppered with ill string and lots of nice chops, definitely one of the standouts on the album. As expected J-Live brought his A+ game here, spitting nothing but qality lines and over such a dope beat that you can't call youself an MC and fuck this track up. I would love to see a J-Live album produced in fully by DJ Spinna, Diamond D and DJ Jazzy Jeff, now that would've been somehting! Another often underrated, yet  outstanding, prudcer is J. Rawls, who in 2001 released an album called "The Essence of J. Rawls" which is stronngly recommed. Funky boom-bap type ish, with lots of cuts and great cameos; what more could you possibly want? J-Live is clearly influenced by the hectic beat, going into story mode, slighty reminniscent of what Common did a couple of years earlier with the "Stolen Moments" series.

I always wanted to hear J-Live collaborate with Da Beatminerz, and though he didn't make '98:s "Brace 4 Impak", his contribuion to Da Minerz' second album "Fully Loaded w. Static" more than makes up for it; showcasing a perfect symbiotic relationship between the duo's knack for creatig funky, yet hardcore music. Such a beat obviously really inspires Live as he rips through the three verses like there were no tommorow. This is followd by "I Say Peace", another laid back cut with more of Live's addictve vocals and hook, over a saxophone driven beat that is simply beuaitful!- courtesy of producer Dela from his 2008 album "Changes Of Atmosphere", a track I can imagine a lot of heads slept on but this is TRULY dope!  The 2001 collaboration from El Fudge's album is of course featured here; two great emcees going back and forth, over a hard-hitting, yet at the same time melodic; a combination that I always love when the right people are involved in. The same can be said about J-Live's apperance on El Da Sensei's 2001 album "Relax, Relate, Release". The track in question also features Asheru, who you should be familiar with if you're a fan of J-Live's music and enjoy reaading credits. Together the trio creates a memorable posse cut; passinng the mic back and forth in friendly competition overthose dreamark banfinf e knocking drums, an aditctive bass line and a repeated vocal sample that runs throughout. Truly a great song that clearly deserves to be heard more. Matter of fact, I'd go as far as saying that I would love to hear these three form a group, but i highly doubt that will ever happen.

The latest (as in newest) song on this compilation is J-Live's apperance on Apathy's 2008 album absolutely ridiciolous titled "Wanna Snuggle?". Luckily the music is a lot beter than the title would suggest; you got a hard beat reminsicent of the good ol' days, filled with tight rhythm, and a lot of horns samples and chops; creating a triumphant feeling. It's not my favorite on the comp by any means, but it's a nice track nontheless and J-Live rips it as expected. So now we heard a lot of J's guest features, but for the end of this 16-track "album", I wanted to focus on the man's unreleased solo work, and there's plenty of good material to choose from. First off is the Prince Paul produced gem "The Day I Fell Off" which was only released in a limited 7" edition. Once again, Live is in the zone, doing one of the things he do best; taking on the role of the griot. While it's not as intense as ""Wax Paper", it's a must hear for fans of both Paul and J-Live and it's a shame that they never gave this a more official release.

Another prodducer who's always trustworthy and who have worked with J-Live on a few ocassions is Oddisee. The track "Once Upon A Mic" was featured on Odd's "Once Upon A Mic" album a few years ago, and while it's not your typical Oddisee production it has many of his trademarks and the chemistry he and Live has is undeniable. This is followed by an outstanding track from Rob Swift's 2002 album "Sound Event" which is strongly recommended. As Swift provides all production and cuts, this is almost a J-Live solo cut produced by Swift, and though it might be a little darker and atmospheric than what we usually hear from the emcee its an absolutely magnificent cut. The following track, with The Nextmen, is more of a laid back funk jawn but works really well anyway.. Overall I think the sequencing of this came off as REAL NICE, will be interesting to hear what you think!

Aight, so we reached the last track... Prince Paul is one of the best proucers of all time, Dan The Automator is fantastic so with these two guys producing together, and innviting J-Live and singer Roisin for "The Truth" is simply mindblowing material. Ever since I first heard this sonng, I have never forgetten it since, and ofte put it on on a "rainy day"; every aspect of the production, form the drum programming, they keys, to Prince Paul's sax outro anf Roisin's beautiful vocals really reminds me of a smoked out blues or jazz club; and then when J-Live pops up for a rather short verse, it's just OVER... I can't think of a better song to close this compilation! Hope you enjoy it, and if you do TURN IT UP!!!!!! Oh and one last thing... the title "THE DJ FAVORITE" is because J-Live is akways featured on ordinary mixtapes and producer DJ/albums (DJ Premier, DJ Nu Mark, Jazzy Jeff, Rob Swift, Oddisee, Da Beatminerz, J. Rawls, and mauy more). But then again,. you can't go wrong with some J-Live.                                                                                                                                                                                   

01. "Longevity" [Head Rush Mix]

02. "Brand Nu Live" (w. DJ Nu-Mark)
03. "Vacation" (w. Jazz Liberators)
04. "Break It Down" (w. DJ Jazzy Jeff & A Bunch Of Dope DJ's)
05. "Practice" (w. DJ Jazzy Jeff)
06. "Great Live Caper" (w. J. Rawls)
07. "Oh! (11.9) (w. Da Beatminerz)
08. "I Say Peace" (w. Dela)

09. "Realize" (w. El Fudge)

10. "What You Wanna Do?" (w. El Da Sensei)

11. "This is Formula" (w. Apathy)

12. "The Day I Fell Off)

13. "Once Upon A Mic" (w. Oddisee)

14. "Sub Level" (w. Rob Swift)

15. "31st February" (w. The Nextmen)

16. "The Truth" (Ft. Prince Paul, Automator & Moloko)

J-LIVE - "THE DJ FAVORITE"

[EP Stream] J-LIVE - "Always Has Been"

When J-Live broke through the scene in 1995 with his double-A side single "Braggin' Writes" / "Longevity", the underground NY scene was acquainted with one of the most fierce, lyrical and clever debut emcees to emerge in quite some time. Both joints were extremely powerful, but especially "Braggin' Writes" stands as one of the definite classic records of the entire 1990s. The follow-up the following year was the 12" and maxi-single "Can I Get It" B/W "Hush The Crowd" and the brilliant The Dome Crackers' remix of "Braggin' Writes"; a mix that would be the start of a long and fruitful relationship with the unbelivably talented DJ Spinna (Dome Crackers was what Spinna and Joc Max called themeselves when working as a production duo).

With the releases of J-Live's impeccable two first official solo albums ("The Best Part" and "All Of The Above"), the emcee had started his own imprint called Triple Threat Productions. To hold fans over to his third solo LP, "Then What Happened", J-Live released two EP:s via the label in 2003, featuring a total of 14 songs spread over close to one hour of previously unreleased music. The second record was titled "Always Will Been", and featured eight newly recorded self-produced songs and a guest feature from Wordsworth. The real treat however, was the previous EP, simply titled "Always Has Been".

The aforementioned EP were by far the most interesting, collecting all the previously released music leading up to J-Live's signing and the recording of "The Best Part" in late 1998. It featured all five songs from J's two debut singles ("Longevity" / "Braggin' Writes"; "Can I Get It" / "Hush The Crowd" / "Braggin' Writes" - The DomeCracker Remix) as well as 88-Keys' original mix of "School's In" which would appear in a remix by the same producer on "The Best Part" a couple of years later. This is an extraordinary listen from one of, at the time, most promising lyrics and the production by George Sulmers, Domecrackers (Spinna & Joc Max), and 88-Keys. One of the biggest curiousity for me about J-Live's early 12":s that they were all produced by the aforementioned Sullivan; considering how dope, pure hip-hop these cuts are it's head scraching that he really doesn't have any other credits to his name. If you haven't heard this EP before (which is now, of course, out of print), the good emcee has uploaded the entire project to his Soundcloud page where you can stream it in its entirety, with the option to purchase a digital copy. Enjoy some of the finest singles of the mid-'90s. J-Live - "Always Has Been" EP.

[Mixtape] J-LIVE - "HOTvsDOPE Vol. 2"

Self-proclaimed triple threat J-Live handles each of his individual skills (MC/DJ/producer) with passion and skill, and his many projects are never less than interesting and at their finest are crafted masterpieces. Each month he  has been throwing a "HOTvsDOPE" party @ The SoundTable in Atlanta, GA, playing an eclectic mix of rare, unknown and classic hip-hop. On Saturday 19 he will be sharing the decks with Wu-Tang veteran DJ Allah Mathematics so it's sure to be a memorable evening, which you can read more about here.

More interesting to us not living anywhere near Atlanta, J-Live has also just released the free mixtape "HOTvsDOPE Vol. 2" via his Bandcamp page. Just looking at the tracklsit this looks like a very enjoyable set that could very well brighten up this cold Friday night. There's mostly newer joints on here, so this is a good chance to catch up on bangers you might have missed out on before. And in case you ain't up on the first installment of this series which dropped back in October, make sure to check that one as well.

[Album] SHA STIMULI - "The Present"

Sha Stimuli is probably one of the most active emcees when it comes to dropping music this year. Starting in January of this year, he dropped the first installment in "The Rent Tape" series with "The Calling" mixtape. Since then, Sha has released a new free tape on a monthly based, and wisely he's save the best for last - "The Present" is a collaboration with production duo Dynamite Bruhz and is full of banging beats and intellectual rhymes. Guest features are many and heavy; how about J-Live, Reks, Torae, MidaZ The Beast, Wordsworth, Skyzoo, Planet Asia, Boog Brown, Rapper Big Pooh, Buff1, and more. Don't sleep on this one guys!