Hailing from the New York district of Spanish Harlem, long-standing rapper Jean-Jacques “J-Live” Cadet (born February 22nd, 1976) first put his name on the map in his late teens with his 1995 single “Longevity” / “Braggin’ Writes”, produced and released by Raw Shack Records’ head honcho Georges Sulmers. Teaming up with hip-hop production heavyweights including Pete Rock, Prince Paul and Raw Shack labelmate DJ Premier, he began recording his debut album, The Best Part, in 1996. While the project suffered various delays due to label disputes, it was met with critical acclaim following its eventual release in 2001. After signing to Coup d'État, he returned with his second album, All of the Above, the following year. The LP, which was largely self-produced, hit number 28 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and number 16 on the Billboard Independent Albums Chart, selling over 30,000 copies. Both albums were written while Cadet was teaching English lessons in Brooklyn, a fact which R.A. The Rugged Man would later acknowledge on the pair’s 2005 Wu-Tang Clan collaboration “Give It Up”: “I never thought I’d be rapping on no record with school teachers”. While Cadet’s subsequent albums have failed to match the commercial success of their predecessor, he has nonetheless continued to release new LPs every few years, including the 2009 compilation album The Early Works of J-Live, the 2015 album How Much Is Water?, and the 2017 beat tape series Actual [Tracks].
