By J-Live, 2002

The understated East Coast hip-hop messenger J-Live delivers the goods on his latest indie release, which may lack big-budget studio acumen but still contains some gems that will rock the house, and make you think. He may not have the big-time star power of Nelly or Jigga, but records like this show why J-Live gets serious love in the underground scene. With a sexy but serious vibe that places it in the same camp as records by fellow alt rappers Mos Def and Common, All of the Above straddles the fence between somewhat preachy odes on the state of hip-hop, à la the emphatic "Do That $#!%," and playful love poems, such as the bouncy "Like This Anna," which brings to mind the classic days of A Tribe Called Quest.

Sometimes J meanders, and he's not helped by an often subdued production, but on cuts like the moody "Traveling Music" his passion and power shine bright. --Amy Linden

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