All of the Above [VINYL]

Any serious hiphop head will now that J-Live has been around for a minute now, and he has to easily be one of the most underrated and slept on MC's EVER. yes EVER. J aint like your normal MC, for 1) hes simply better than most MC's out at the moment but 2) he is one of the most intelligent MC's ever to pick up a mic...considering he used to be an english teacher. Now examples of his superior lingustic skills are displayed on the track MCee. This has to be one of the most intelligently created concept tracks ever produced...not just because of the way that he starts every letter with an M or C, not just because he also informs us about what the nature of a real MC actually is but its because of the way that he completely rips up the track, flawlessly with energy that only a head that understands will appreciate. Now, I know what you're saying; "that aint nothing fresh, some Mc's do the whole alphabet in one track!"...Now like i said above, its not ALL about what rhymes hes doing, its how he does it...showing his experience in the underground. Now, you would think that since I'm going on so much about one track the album must be quite inconsistent...WRONG! It keeps its consistency yet variety throughout ensuring that any true hiphop head gets what they want. For example, Tracks like "How Real it is" talk about being a Man and holding your own...whilst Satisfied? (Viewed as the best J-Live track by some) talks about the events of 9/11 and similar issues in America that makes you just want to stand up with your fist in the air...saying damn this is the truth. Showcasing his more creative and storytelling abilites tracks like "one for the griot" which is one truly intriguing story that undergoes a variety of different twists! & "Like this Anna" which uses the commonly used phrase "Like this and a, its like that and a" to depict the idea of a Woman named Anna are included. Similarly, J-Live tells a story about his life, like a timeline, on the track "A Charmed Life" which is laced over a jazzy beat which has to be one of the most refreshingly relaxing tracks I've ever heard.
Now, the majority of the beats are provided by respected underground producers such as DJ Spinna, Richy Pitch,Joe Money and even J himself help to top this album off PERFECTLY since every beat matches the concepts/lyrics. However, I've noticed that this album gets a lot of criticims for the beats not matching up to the impeccable lyricism (which probably explains the average of 4 stars on this site alone) which I personally find is down to ignorance and not being able to understand the essence J is aiming for. This album is often compared to his "The best part" which featured production by hiphop heavyweights like Pete Rock, Dj Premier and so forth. DO NOT COMPARE OR EXPECT THE SAME TYPE OF BEATS...this is essentially a more intellectual and concept based album than his previous work as every track has its own individuality and therefore its own individual sound. This is where commercial heads will not be able to understand what I'm saying about albums like this...who dont use their ears as garbage filters (to actually quote J) and understand why people like 50 cent,nelly etc should not be earning 10X as much as you or me... only connections,money and promotion keep them afloat not creativity or talent!. Now, enough of the preaching, if you consider yourself a true,underground,real(whatever the cliche) hiphop head then you must own this! You will find that you have stumbled across a gem that you have ignored for too long now and it'll make you remember why you fell in love with hiphop in the first place! Get This, and anything else by J-Live 'cause he's keeping hiphop alive. And if j-live is reading this, all I can say is you're ish is appreciated over here in England and keep on doing what you're doing for hiphop!!! PEACE!

Lyrics 10/10
Beats 10/10
Replay Value 9.75/10
X Factor 10/10

Overall - 9.5/10! A CLASSIC

NOW IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THIS ALBUM, READ THIS REVIEW. DONT IGNORE IT BECAUSE IT'S LONG!
With that said...Slept on by many, All of the above is the epitmoe of hiphop; Amazing lyrics, flow, stories, beats, samples, scratches & concepts all into one. J-Live; one of the most slept on and underrated MC's in the entire history of hiphop, with this release, has proven just why he is considered to be of the most intelligent and creative Mc's ever to emerge from the underground. Now, the reason why so many slept on this is probably because it does not initially have the same impact that the "best part" did (and still does due to it having finally being released properly)as the best part showcased tight lyrics but even better beats w/guys such as DJ Premier, Pete Rock & other respectable producers. Whereas, All of the above is more of a lyrics & concept album...in this respect it is literally flawless. Proof of this is the exceptional joint "MCee" where J-Live threads the letters "M" and "C" into the starts of words, sentences and so many other places so brillianly it's no wonder he was an English Teacher. Now, I know peeps will be saying "yeh, well that aint original...some guys do the entire alphabet" So what...its the way in which J-Live lets his flow rip up the track and makes it rhyme at the same time.

"You know why, cause I'ma Master of Ceremonies,
Making a Comeback,
n Moving the Crowd w/ Mad Charisma,
Most of y'all cornballs, Mingle at Concerts,
Making a Claim but you know who is the ['MC']
More Concentration on My Cadence Might Cloud your mind
Controlling your Movement Capaciously,
My Capacity to Massacre Crumbs And Motive Change
Most Certainly Makes you Consider Me,
Champion, Microphone is Consistently,
Modelling Candor of Magnificence,
Cunning and Marvelous,
Crafty yet Malevolent,
To all Cultivators of Mindless Crap!

Yeh, now thats what you call Hiphop, and thats whats missing in this game...originality. Now, to dwell on only one song would mean surely that the whole album pales in comparison...NO! Pretty much all tracks on this album have their own concepts and sound that make the album a much more of a varied listen. For example tracks like "How Real It Is" talk about the realness of life in actuality and what responsibilites come with handling your ish like a man. Then "Satisfied" (Considered by some to be the best J Live track of all time) talks about the tragedy of 9/11 and priorities and values that we all share. The beat is just crazy on this one..making you want to throw your fist up and stand for something. Then on a more lingustically clever approach, Live tells a Vivid story with a variety of twists on "one for the griot", whilst "Like This Anna" uses the idea of a woman named "Anna" to play with the idea of the phrase "it's like this and a, its like that and a" used commonly in hiphop today. However, for me, the best of these is "A Charmed Life" where live talks about his life stages over a ridiculously chilled out and charming jazz vibe.
Now I would say the ONLY Flaw about this album is the way that the "stir of echoes" track and the "interlude" were put together as they are both easily the most un-satisfying of the tracks and definitely slow the energy of the album down. But that's the only flaw for me with this album. Now, With all that said any REAL hiphop head (and I mean it, I aint using this played out term for nothing) MUST OWN THIS, along with the best part! You will have stumbled across a gem that you never really payed much attention to.

One of the best Lyrical masterpieces ever created, All of the above is something that you cannot afford to just ignore! J-Live if you reading this then KEEP DOIN YOUR THING, it really is appreciated over here in the UK...keep on keeping it LIVE!
And with that said...all I can say is 10/10 Lyrics 8/10 Beats (and thats being critical) a slept on classic. One.

P.S. Pick up anything else by J-Live...its all for the good. PEACE!!!!!!!!

What you could say about j-live is that he sometimes places content over flow, but don't worry, he has managed to keep his flow very nice so you become top lyrics with a nice sometimes a little weird flow.
When I say "weird" I do not mean weird like Quasimoto or Declaime...
If you would like to give some (constructif) comments on this lp you could say that it isn't really one (thin red) line.
What makes j-live so wonderfull is his freshness.
He rhymes so fresh, you can almost taste his love for hip-hop as you hear him rapping...
I can't wait to see him live-

-festak-