Musician Profile: Jurassic 5

Jurassic 5 is from Los Angeles, California. With their funky flair, upbeat tempo, and underground style it is pretty evident that Jurassic 5 comes from the same primordial soup as groups like "Souls of Mischief", "People Under the Stairs", and "Hieroglyphics". Los Angeles definitely has a style and flavor that is evident in its music, fashion, and culture.

Jurassic 5 contains six members. 4 MC's: Chali 2na, Akil, Zaakir, and Mark 7even. And 2 DJ's: Nu Mark and Cut Chemist. The group is actually a sum of two smaller groups, which combined forces in 1993. Originally "Rebels of Rhythem" and "Unity Committee", the crews eventually joined forces to become one entity, Jurassic 5, and got their start by performing on open mic nights at "The Good Life Cafe". Jurassic 5 gives a shout out to their roots in the song "Acetate Prophets" from their second full length album "Power in Numbers". The song begins with the sounds of instruments tuning and Chali announcing "Rebels of rhythm, leebo, stay tuned for Unity Committee..." to create the imagery of an open mic night, perhaps where the band got its start at "The Good Life Cafe" the Jurassic's own Cradle of Life.

Jurassic 5 is a conscious rap group. It's not just about the money for these guys. They're one of the rare groups where ego's don't get in the way of their music. In an interview with IGN, Chali said:

" Yeah, definitely a democracy, but moreso than a democracy it's like we treat the songs like a person. It's like 'Okay what does this guy need? Let's give it to him!' "

This is a really cool quality that the group has consistently held onto: humility and genuineness. No one MC is trying to say "I am the best, I deserve more", they are all equals in a democratic-like system. But more than that, they don't even view it as Who is the best? I think they see it more as How can we make the best song possible?

J5 has 4 albums. Their first 'The EP' is probably my favorite because of the impact it has had on my life. This album was crafted before the group signed with Interscope records. The group released this album independently with no label (the definition of underground) in 1997 and it sold 200,000+ copies. This album features the song "Concrete Schoolyard", which is in my opinion the groups best song, but every song on the album is about equally as good.

After signing with Interscope records in 1999, the group re-released "The EP" as a deluxe edition, which was self-titled and then released their 3 studio albums over the span of the next 7 years.

1. Quality Control - 2000
2. Power In Numbers - 2002
3. Feedback - 2006

Here is one song from each album, in order of my favorite album:

The EP



Power In Numbers



Quality Control



The Feedback




SIDE NOTE: Chali 2na is currently on tour with Dan The Automator (The Producer for Deltron 3030), sounds awesome