More Great, New Music

It's tempting to say J-Live is back, but he never really left. He's been putting out a lot of music, actually, over the years. There was a little gap between 1996 and 1999, but really since then, he's put out a ton of albums and 12"s. However, I don't know about you guys, but... after being initially excited about his early 12"s, I've let a lot of these fly under the radar.

But I'm damn glad I didn't let this one fly under. Based on an online recommendation or twenty, I held off for a bit but finally picked it up, and damn it's nice. "The Way That I Rhyme" is the latest single on his own label, Triple Threat Productions. Now J-Live has come out on a whole bunch of different labels; but throughout the years, he's always maintained Triple Threat, and even in 2010, he's still putting out wax.

Now, this track isn't produced by anybody I've ever heard of before... his name is Korede. And if this track is any indication, he's definitely somebody to watch out for in future (here's his myspace; I just looked it up). Simply, this beat is niiice. The drums and bass are subtle, but strong and really drive the rhythm. More superficially you've got some hot string samples and a smooth vocal sample. And the hook, when the DJ starts cutting up Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock's "It Takes Two" is perfect! It's like two mixed vibes: one upbeat and energetic and one cool and calming, but somehow they both manage to function at the same time, and even compliment each other. Meanwhile, J-Live's vocals sound like they're taken off some late '97 single that was lost in the vaults or something, with a fun narrative style and some dialogue interplay between himself and a female fan. All these elements working together, add up to an easy must-have.

The B-side doesn't stand out quite as much as the A-side - how could it? - but it's still pretty fresh. It's called "Poetry In Motion" and produced by Locsmif, who's been around the underground for a minute and did some tracks for OC. The beat's got a nice, choppy jazz vibe, and J-Live comes off cool and confident on the mic. This could actually pass pretty well for an OC song, actually - and that's certainly a compliment.

So this is the lead single off of J-Live's upcoming EP, Undivided Attention, with the B-side remaining exclusive to this 12". You also get instrumentals for both tracks here, and a clean version of the A-side. There's nothing limited or pricey about this one, so you really can't go wrong... another terrific hip-hop record in 2010.