Jurassic 5 flexed serious old-to-the-new muscles in the '90s,
beginning with their independently released single
"Unified Rebelution" in 1994, and book-ending with their stellar debut
full-length: 2000's Quality Control. They walked a tightrope between
underground and mainstream hip-hop, and toured alongside rap peers
as well as punk rockers on the Vans Warped Tour.
With doublethe pleasure ofyouraverage hip-hop group - two DJsand
producers (Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark); and four MCs (Chali 2na,
Akil, Marc 7 and Zaakir aka Soup) - they brought the late 1970s
"unison MC" style of pioneering groups like the Fantastic 5 and the
Force MCsto a new generation. Even moresurprisingly, they did so out
of Los Angeles, whose hip-hop flavors generally leaned towards
Gangsta, G-Funk or Electro lines. Musically inventive and lyrically
forward-thinking, each song on Quality Control is a new adventure,
exploring engaging territory, delivered via one of the best live hip-hop
shows fans had seen in years.
From singles like the strutting groove of the title track to the throwback
doo-wop samples on "The Influence" and the catchy, keyboard
groove-driven "World of Entertainment (WOE Is Me)," to deeper album
tracks like the lyrical gymnastics of "Jurass Finish First" and the
thought-provoking "Lausd," Jurassic 5 consistently stepped to the
plate and their fans responded in kind, nearly pushing the album to
Gold status. Add the innovative DJ-and-sample workout which closes
out the album, "Swing Set," and you have one of the 2000s' most
unique and solid full-length platters.