Making music in America is a tough business. Especially if no one knows who you are. The keys to success are vigilant work, dedication, honesty and raw passion.
J-Live is one example of an artist who embodies all of these qualities.
Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, J-Live emerged onto the hip-hop scene in 1995, bringing his impeccable lyricism and turntablism across the globe with dedication, passion and honesty.
Since then, J-Live has been listed in the “Unsigned Hype” section of “The Source” magazine. His first single, “Braggin’ Writes,” sold 13,000 copies on vinyl. The follow-up track, “Can I Get It,” doubled the sales of his first single.
Following his rapid early success, J-Live was signed to a major label in 1997. Payday Records, a label which signed popular artists including Jay-Z and Mos Def’s group Urban Thermo Dynamics, added J-Live to its roster.
During this time, J-Live recorded his first album, “The Best Part,” but it was not released. In 1999, it was re-recorded, but again it was officially unreleased. It quickly became an underground sensation and spread by way of bootleg recordings. Within a year, J-Live’s relationship with Payday Records collapsed and he signed a new contract with Universal Records. This contract ended shortly as well.
At this point, J-Live decided he would abandon his search for a new label and started his own, “Triple Threat Productions.” In late 2001, after serious trials and tribulations with label shuffling, J-Live finally released “The Best Part.”
His second album, “All of the Above,” was released in April 2002. He is currently on tour to support the album. He will make his way to Eugene and play WOW Hall tonight, along with special guests People Under the Stairs and Eugene’s Strange Folks.
J-Live is a one-man show. He mixes on the turntables and rhymes, sometimes at the same time. J-Live said his shows are full-energy party scenes.
“It’s just good hip-hop,” he said. “There’s a lot of energy, you know, precise lyrics, good deejaying. It’s a good party vibe. I’m trying to put things in the context of a good party.”
For every show, J-Live said he sees a larger audience than the last one.
“There’s a lot of positive feedback,” he said. “Some of the biggest shows recently were in Boulder, San Francisco. (These places) had good turnouts. And people in San Diego, they were so loud. I have to give them props.”
J-Live’s lyrics are part of what makes him so respected.
“He has a certain way of putting his rhyme patterns together that you hear something new every time you listen to him,” KWVA Music Director Aaron Hall said. “By the 10th time you hear one of his songs, you realize, man, there’s a totally different subtext going on. It’s layered hip-hop, it’s not just surface level.”
J-Live said he records what he feels compelled to write.
“I do what I feel in my heart,” he said. “I have a certain responsibility to uphold.”
J-Live holds a degree in English from the State University of New York in Albany, NY. He said this background gave him more of a repertoire and style.
“The more artists you are exposed to, the more you are influenced by them,” he said. “I was really big on Asian philosophy. I really liked ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu.”
KWVA will hold a live interview with J-Live at 8 p.m. tonight before his WOW Hall performance.
“He’s a one-man show and he kills it,” said Tom O’Toole, who will interview J-Live.
J-Live credits college radio for helping him build his name up.
“There’s a lotta politics in gettin’ into radio,” he said. “You gotta have a lotta resources and tools to do this, and until I get that opportunity, college radio is (there for me).”
Tickets for the WOW Hall show are $12 in advance, and $14 at the door. Doors open at 8 p.m. and showtime is 8:30 p.m.