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Sound Judgment: J-Live - S.P.T.A.

Published: Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Updated: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 21:10

J-Live is a triple threat. Emcee. DJ. Producer. Dangerous at first glance, sure, but lethal after a listen. See, J-Live kicks knowledge. Kind of like the golden age of Hip hop. Remember that? Back in the day?

His new album "S.P.T.A." – Said Person of That  Ability – is based on the trio concept. Three faces of J-Live battle for creative control. Sounds too conceptual maybe, but J-Live finds a way to merge his personas into Hip hop nirvana.

Sixteen years in the business – production on his first album "The Best Part" began in '95 – has given J-Live enlightenment. He knows what it takes to sell an album, to sell out, so to speak. Never that though, J-Live would rather keep it real and spell it out.

"From Scratch" is J-Live at his lyrical apex, "Death begets life and life begets death/ From verse to last breath/ Like right it means left/ To exist defective/ Self-reflective/ Sharper perspective/ Be objective/ Add on for the selective collective/ "S.P.T.A." isn't a throwback album though. Instead J-Live combines old school elements with modern production. The beats feel raw. Jazzy piano chords round out many of the songs.

If you don't like keys in your beats leave this album on the shelf. J-Live holds down the turntables like he was born with vinyl fingertips. On "Pronounced Spitta" the scratching almost works like a call and response spiritual.

He matches his own lyrical prowess, scratch for script, "The radio is quid pro quo/ The videos they show/ Are dealin' with gangsters, pimps, and hoes/ Not even tryin' to turn up my nose but I know/ We got so much more to offer on the low" 

S.P.T.A. features production by RJD2 and Nicolay. The tracks where J-Live is at his best though, are his own creations. Guest production adds variety, but not necessarily higher quality.

The message might be existential at times, but it exists. By virtue of existing – forget it – J-Live can speak for himself. As he said on that first record, "Emcees out there/ Pipe down and listen here/ It's J. Live..."

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