It’s not so strange that in a world where the dominating archetype of the rap star is that of a hyper-masculine thug that neither fists nor firearms can defeat, NYC emcee J-Live would choose to show himself knocked out cold on the cover of his new album Then What Happened. As one of the preponderance of artists forced to go toe-to-toe with the infamous Industry Rule #4080, Live has definitely taken his fair share of blows to his career on more than a few occasions. However, as the fact that his name has become almost synonymous with deft rhymes, imaginative concepts, and dope production demonstrates, true greatness is not about never being knocked down, but how you get back up.

J-Live dwells on his past metaphorical cuts and bruises over the sorrow-drenched soul loops and fat bass guitar plucks of “Be No Slave.” Here he meticulously crafts verses lamenting the mistreatment he endured early in his career, while at the same time, making a defiant “never again” declarative. Additionally, his career is not the only aspect of his life that has given him a black eye; he works through the turmoil of his recent divorce in “The Last Third.” With muted horns and melancholic keys as the blue-tinted backdrop he rhymes using “coded language… to try and hide the anguish,” but the deep abstractions only serve to make his suffering feel more profound.

However, this LP is by no means music to slit wrists to; J-Live has no trouble finding joy amidst his struggles, and its source is his love for the art. For “The Zone” he recruits Charlie 2na and DJ Nu-Mark of Jurassic 5 for assistance, the trio banging out a simple, loop-driven party track harking back “to when rap didn’t sound like asscrack/ back when if you was wack you got laughed at/ not suped up and jacked for your ASCAP.” On “The Upgrade,” De La Soul’s Posdanous and heavy-twanged producer/rapper Oddisee lyrically mirror the artist’s passion for Hip-Hop over inspirational soul vocal loops, bright horns, and stirring organs. “It Don’t Stop” was created in a similar spirit, Justice’s rhymes a powerful balance of battle invective and dedication to his craft. If there was a single on TWH this would be it; producer Yallzee masterfully builds the track around a heavenly bells and strings, buttery low ends, and unobtrusive turntable scribbles.

Despite all the goodness on the album, noticeably absent from Then What Happened are the classic storytelling adventures that J-Live has shown such an amazing aptitude for. There is no “Great Live Caper” or “One for the Griots” here, and they are greatly missed. He does tease listeners with the catchy Latin guitar and horn driven “Olé,” but guest Oddy Gato interrupts J’s escalating tale with his own bizarre, nonsensical verses. Then, with “Oowee” J-Live picks up the story where “Olé” leaves off, however there isn’t anything here that makes it stand out from other rappers’ ‘met-a-girl-in-the-club-we-fell-in-love-but-it-didn’t-work-out’ narratives. A J-Live effort without a mind-fracturing J-Live storytelling epic seems almost criminal.

While Then What Happened is not one of his best outings, it is definitely a solid effort from one of Hip-Hop’s most underrated triple threats. J-Live continues to do Hip-Hoppers proud, delivering sharp lyrics and relevant subject matter over head-nodding beats. True-school Hip-Hop may be staggering right now, but as long as cats like J-Live are still spitting, it will never be down for the count.

Track Listing
1. One to 31
2. Be No Slave
3. The Upgrade feat. Posdanous and Oddisee
4. It Don’t Stop
5. The Understanding
6. The Last Third
7. Olé feat. Oddisee
8. What You Holdin?
9. Oowee
10. The Zone feat. Charlie 2na and DJ Nu-Mark
11. We Are!
12. Simmer Down
13. You Out There