J-Live - Then What Happened?

Three years after his last full length album, J-Live shows the depth of his range on Then What Happened. Adhering to the standard of quality he is known for, J delivers 13 tracks of timeless hip-hop, featuring contributions from many of the biggest names in underground hip-hop. Over neck snapping beats, J-Live twists words at his whim, demonstrating what skill, knowledge, and a true love for one`s craft can accomplish. Album Description

See, What Happened Was...(Rating: 7 out of 10- -3.5 stars)

J-Live is one of my most favorited emcees I've ever heard, not to mention he's also a producer and a DJ (damn, that's gotta be full time job). His lyrics are so cleverly made, and his delivery on them is so great as well. I believe All of the Above is one of the best albums I've ever heard. To this day, I still regret waiting almost 5 years after that album to come out to buy it. When this album came out, I made sure I wouldn't make that mistake again, and bought it within the week.

Then What Happened? is an album full of more clever lyrics and solid production. A couple of good tracks are "Be No Slave", with a nice sample to flow with the song. "The Upgrade" with Oddisee and Pos is great as well. "The Understanding" has a nice beat, and J-Live flows nicely on it. "Ooweee" is funny and entertaining, in my opinion, as he gets on that story telling style track (remember "One For The Griot"?).

Unfortunately, this album is far from All of the Above in so many aspects. Personally, the album itself just doesn't mesh together. Disjointed tracks like "The Last Third" and "What You Holdin'?" causes the album to fall off balance. Another track that fell under skip material was "Simmer Down", it just failed to keep my attention.

This album is a dope release from an underrated artist. As I said before, the production here is solid (done by himself, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Nicolay, and others), but the lyrics carry most of the album's weight. Go ahead and pick this album up, and while you're at it, pick up the rest of his discography if you want to hear more clever lyrics (btw, no I haven't heard The Best Part either, but plan to). Also, if you're new to J-Live, check out some recent tracks such as "Vacation" from Clin d'Oeil, as well as "Practice" from DJ Jazzy Jeff's The Return of the Magnificent. Peace.

Lyrics: A-
Production: B
Guest Appearances: B+
Musical Vibes: B

Top 5 Tracks:
1. Be No Slave
2. The Upgrade (featuring Oddisee and Pos)
3. Oowee
4. The Understanding
5. You Out There October 2, 2008

J-Live Takes A Lickin' And Keeps On Tickin' {4 ½ Stars}

When J-Live drops an album, you can expect a certain level of dopeness and consistency. He hasn't failed to meet that expectation, if you ask me -- well, one could argue that Reveal the Secret didn't meet those expectations, but I liked it. On Then What Happened, J-Live delivers another banger from the perspective of a man that has been battered and beaten by the record industry but still stands tall and delivers the goods. I don't know if this is the best production he's ever rhymed over -- mostly because All of the Above is one of my favorite rap albums ever -- but it's some of the best production on a J-Live album in quite some time. The highlight of the album, in my opinion, is "The Upgrade" which features Oddisee and De La's Posdnuos over some inspiring production. There are other highlights as well, but the entire album is solid from top to bottom.

As far as flaws, there's nothing on this album that one could call wack. For me, it's all tight from to bottom. That being said, there are one or two tracks that I skip every now and then because I have to be in the mood for them -- "Be No Slave", "What You Holdin", and "The Last Third", for example.

Then What Happened is one of the best rap releases of 2008, in my opinion. Sure, the production is nothing out of this world or groundbreaking, but all around output is nothing short of excellent. I recommend adding this album to your music collection.

Standout Tracks: It Don't Stop, We Are!, One to 31, The Upgrade feat. Oddisee & Posdnuos (My Favorite), The Zone feat. Chali 2na, and The Understanding September 26, 2008

Re: album of the year

With all due respect to Kweli's Eardrum, which was released in '07, and Jean Grae's Jeanius, which i bought but promptly gifted to someone, i can't imagine an album surpassing J Live this year, especially in '08, regardless of who is on deck...

The first 4 tracks are like other J Live's intros: completely solid and great beats, the rest of the album/story is just as solid, and the concluding track is epic...

i thoroughly recommend anyone looking for something new to dial in to Then What Happened, it is my favorite, which says a lot after The Hear After, i just can't keep this out of rotation on the iPod...

my only regret is having to wait for a new 1, but this one can be played again and again, highly recommended, without question... July 14, 2008

Everything you'd expect from J-Live

I agree with the other reviewer about many points except that J-Live's earlier albums lacked good production. "All of the Above" is roughly equal to his latest effort, and includes production by DJ Spinna, J-Live himself, and others. If you're going to buy one J-Live album, get "All of the Above." If you're going to buy two, get "Then What Happened?" Really, you'd be doing yourself a favor to get all of them. J-Live is one of the most consistent, hard-working emcees in the game, and the proof is in the pudding. June 22, 2008

J-Live "Then What Happened" - 4.5 stars

I challenge you to name a more gifted all around emcee over the last 10 years than J-Live. Word play, cadence, charisma, content, voice, metaphors, creativity... J-Live is A+ across the board.

Lyric wise you get what you'd expect from J - excellence bordering on perfection - and even more. I played this over the weekend in the car on a long road trip with my wife, and we almost crashed out of excitement several times - and had a bunch of rewinds. At points in the album you feel in his voice and delivery that he's been "beat up" a bit (which the album cover should tell you) since The Hear After, but I think he's used to that by now. He should be commended for consistently putting out such a high quality of work - in spite of the punches.

I agree with others that the beats can occasionally be a little... plain? That's what makes this album really exceptional - as a whole, I think it's his best album production wise. Oddisee, Evil Dee, NuMark to name a few - very tight. The guest verses are nice too - Pos and J-Live together... finally!! It lulls a little in the middle, but it's still a very solid album - at worst.

If you know and appreciate J-Live's work, you know that you don't need to read reviews - just cop it ASAP. If you're unfamiliar or on the fence, and you love Hip-Hop, I don't see how you wouldn't like this. I've rarely been this happy after 2 listens, and I don't recall being this pleased since hearing Connected (Foreign Exchange). June 10, 2008

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