J-Live was one of the absolute best MCs in the business back in the late 90s/early 00s. Not only did he rip shit in the studio and on tour, but he also blessed many radio show and mixtape DJs with outstanding pre-written, improvisational freestyles.
I traded for two of his concerts back in 2003 or thereabouts; Volume 3 contains his Chicago 'o1 performance (15 minutes), and volume 4 is a complete soundboard from a '02 North Carolina concert. Make sure to check the audio samples.
I know that I'm missing at least a few freestyles from between the years of 1995 and 2002, so if you have anything to add, please hit us up in the comments section. For instance, there is an ill freestyle on a wax-only release titled Classic Freestyles Volume 1. I found an audio sample here.
J-Live - Non-Album Tracks Volume 1
1. Longevity
2. Braggin' Writes
3. School's In (Original Version)
4. Can I Get It?
5. Hush The Crowd
6. Longevity (Remix)
7. Braggin' Writes (Remix)
8. Trackrunners w/ Asheru & Grap Luva
9. Shiesty (Original Version)
10. Shyste (Wide Angles Version)
11. End Of Story w/ Peshay
12. The Truth
13. Wee Hours w/ The Arsonists
14. Interaction w/ Walkin' Large
http://www.mediafire.com/?zgj2guvjkvg
J-Live - Non-Album Tracks Volume 2
1. Seven w/ Various Artists
2. Dynomite w/ Lone Catalysts
3. Great Live Caper w/ J. Rawls
4. Great Live Caper Pt. 2 w/ J. Rawls
5. Won't Stop Remix w/ Lone Catalysts
6. What Would You Do w/ Various Artists
7. Dummy w/ Unsung Heroes & L-Fudge
8. A Tree Never Grown w/ Various Artists
9. Realise w/ L-Fudge
10. Observe The Sound w/ Various Artists
11. Rules Of Engagement w/Esoteric & Count Bass D
12. Final Four w/ Various Artists
13. Sub Level w/ Rob Swift
14. Red Light Green Light w/ Ambivalence
15. Ships Pass
16. The Day I Fell Off
http://www.mediafire.com/?dndtze2nzzn
J-Live - Non-Album Tracks Volume 3
1. KZSU Freestyle
2. DJ B-Melo Freestyle
3. DJ Bless Freestyle
4. Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle
5. CM Famalam Freestyle
6. Eddie Ill & DL Freestyle w/ Asheru & Last Emperor
7. Eddie Ill & DL Freestyle w/ Wizdom Life & AL
8. Eddie Ill & DL Freestyle w/ Various Artists
9. Romper Room Freestyle #1 w/ Vakill & Prime
10. Romper Room Freestyle #2 w/ Vakill & Prime
11. Live In Chicago '01 (15 Minutes)
12. Interview w/ Ambivalence
http://www.mediafire.com/?zden25kmtnf
J-Live - Non-Album Tracks Volume 4 (N.C. SDBD)
1. Intro
2. Peace Y'all
3. A Charmed Life/The Lyricist
4. All In Together Now
5. Don't Play
6. Hush The Crowd
7. Longevity
8. Satisfied
9. DJ DP-One Spotlight
10. Braggin' Writes
11. Freestyle
12. Them That's Not
13. Like This Anna
14. Mcee
15. Beatbox Outro
http://www.mediafire.com/?bmgeo5nhyy5
Preview:
School's In (Original Version)
Braggin' Writes (Remix)
Trackrunners w/ Asheru & Grap Luva
Shiesty (Original Version)
Shyste (Wide Angles Version)
End Of Story w/ Peshay
KZSU Freestyle
DJ B-Melo Freestyle
DJ Bless Freestyle
Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle
CM Famalam Freestyle
Eddie Ill & DL Freestyle w/ Asheru & Last Emperor
A Charmed Life/The Lyricist (North Carolina '02)
Don't Play (North Carolina '02)
Them That's Not (North Carolina '02)
Props to dirt dog for the awesome cover.
--Roy Johnson
............. (speachless....)
ReplyDeletedamn man this is true dope, thanks!
Much thanks for this one!!! On the mic, on the beat or the wheels of steel.....
ReplyDeleteDope post, J-Live is great
ReplyDeleteThis is an incredible post. I love J-Live. Oh and hey Jaz. lol
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I wasted years and tons of money tracking down this stuff, when I coulda just waited and grabbed it now for free. In my FACE. Awesome post!
ReplyDeletetroy blog is the greatest,
ReplyDeletebut what the heck is a pre-written improvisational freestyle?
What about this track, "Questions (Remix):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.megaupload.com/?d=MBQ9DSSN
This is the best version I could ever find, a 192kb with WAY too much bass.
Deezlee - I can't call 'em straight-up freestyles because they're all pre-written, but he improvises in that he takes bits and pieces from a bunch of different songs and he mixes 'em in depending on the beat. That's the only way that I could describe it. A traditional freestyle is when you come exclusively off the top of the head.
ReplyDeleteEscapevelocity - I appreciate the upload. I remember seeing this track on the discogs page for the "Always Has Been" EP, but I figured that it was a post-2002 song, so I didn't even bother to track it down. I had no clue that it was a remix of "Longevity".
ReplyDeleteAlso, I forgot to include the original version of "Raw Footage", as well as a track from '02 with DJ Jazzy Jeff. Go to this J-Live thread in the TROY forum for both tracks:
http://www.philaflava.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=111670
Uploaded by Dan (one of our many great members).
I got exraction errors on the first two volumes. Any one else have this problem? I redownloaded and all.
ReplyDelete@PWS- I also got those errors. I'm missing track 11 from vol.1 and track 5 from vol 2.
ReplyDeleteI figured it was my computer, but I guess not.
That's strange. I don't think I've ever experienced anything like this before. I wonder why it's just those two tracks?
ReplyDeleteHere are direct DL links:
End Of Story w/ Peshay
http://www.divshare.com/download/7916632-582
Won't Stop Remix w/ Lone Catalysts
http://www.divshare.com/download/7971277-67a
Thanks Roy. Whenever something like this happened to me when downloading, it was usually because there were too many 'characters' when extracting. I'm guessing that to mean that there are too many letters in the folder and track names combined.
ReplyDeleteNot sure though.
Not sure what happened here, either.
Roy, thanks for the reup. I really dig J-Live, so I'm happy to have these two extra songs.
ReplyDeleteNo problem, man. Check the TROY forum for more J-Live rarities from bignormy. He upped the explicit version of "School's In", a rare remix for "Longevity" that was only available on a three song tape and never got CD or 12" treatment, etc.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.philaflava.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=111670
j-live has been one of my favourite mc's for a while now. trult dope post. thanks Roy
ReplyDelete