 Jurassic 5 - Though there's actually six of them,
Jurassic 5 got everything else right on their
self-titled debut EP. Part of the new rap underground of the
late '90s (along with
Company Flow,
Mos Def,
Doctor Octagon, and
Sir Menelik), the sextet -- rappers Marc 7even,
Chali 2na, Zaakir, and
Akil, plus producers
Cut Chemist and
DJ Nu-Mark -- came together in 1993 at the Los Angeles
cafe/venue named the Good Life. The six members were part of
two different crews, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee;
after collaborating on a track, they combined into
Jurassic 5 and debuted in 1995 with the "Unified
Rebellion" single for TVT Records. At the tail end of 1997,
the Jurassic 5 EP appeared and was hailed by critics as one
of the freshest debuts of the year (if not the decade). Both
Cut Chemist and
Chali 2na are also part of the Latin-hop collective
Ozomatli, while
Chemist himself recorded several mix-tapes plus the
wide-issue album Future Primitive Soundsession (with
Shortkut from
Invisibl Skratch Piklz). The year 2000 found the group
on tour with
Fiona Apple and on the Warped Festival, just in time for
the release of Quality Control that summer. Live work
continued during 2000-2001, and a second record (Power in
Numbers) appeared by the end of 2002.
Jurassic 5 earned new fans -- many outside of hip-hop --
by playing some unconventional venues, including
Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and the Warped Tour. By 2006,
Cut Chemist had left the group to pursue his production
and DJ ambitions; the remaining quintet enlisted producers
including Salaam Remi, Scott Storch, and Exile (as well as
inhouse talent,
DJ Nu-Mark) to record their third full LP, Feedback,
released in July 2006. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
Jurassic 5 for your next corporate or private event.
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