Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5 (or J5 for short ) is an American hip-hop group consisting of rappers Marc 7even , Chali 2na , Zaakir and Akil, as well as DJs DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist .
history
The group, made up of two different crews, the Rebels of Rhythm and the Unity Committee , was formed in 1993 in Los Angeles , California . The members met in the early 1990s in the Good Life Café, known in the underground scene for its open mic sessions. After a jointly produced track, they released their first single in 1995 under the name Unified Rebelution for TVT Records.
The EP was named one of the freshest albums of the year shortly after its independent release in late 1997. The sound of J5 sounds like old school and the lyrics also show what the group thinks is important about hip-hop, namely having fun and social awareness. It condemns the bloody clashes, which are not uncommon in the Los Angeles ghettos, and renounces clichés such as drugs, gangsters, sex or violence. A good example is the track Concrete Schoolyard ( Let's take it back to the concrete streets / Original beats from real live MCs ), which even got the group in the UK charts in November 1998 at number 35 .
This was followed by a contract with Interscope, a label that is more for artists like 50 Cent or Dr. Dre stands, and a new edition of the EP, which sold again a few thousand times. Now Jurassic 5 is named in one sentence along with greats like Mos Def and The Roots .
The next album came out in June 2000. Almost seven years after their official merger, they entered the top 50 in several countries. The style is similar to the EP, the often clearly articulated text and the characteristic voices like Chali 2na's deep bass ensure the typical J5 sound, with which the typical flute can always be heard.
Jurassic 5 built on their popularity with many tours and performances, and in late 2002 their next album, Power in Numbers, was released . The mood of the album was a bit darker than that of its predecessors, the lyrics more mature. Even in the intro, topics such as the third world or the conditions in US prisons are addressed. In addition to some old-school anthems such as the perhaps best-known piece What's Golden, other well-known artists such as Nelly Furtado and Big Daddy Kane contributed to the loosening up.
In 2006 Cut Chemist left the band to embark on a solo career. Without him, the band toured and recorded the album Feedback , from which the single Work it out , a collaboration with the Dave Matthews Band , was extracted.
In early February 2007, Zaakir announced in an interview that Jurassic 5 split after their tour of Australia and Japan. Due to many small differences of opinion, the concept of the group no longer works.
In March 2014 Jurassic 5 announced their re-union on their website. Two months later, the group released the song The Way We Do It, produced by Heavy D , the first track after their reunification on Youtube and Facebook.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1998 | Jurassic 5 | - | - | - |
UK70  (2 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: June 1, 1998
|
| 2000 | Quality Control | - | - | - |
UK23 (7 weeks)UK |
US43 (15 weeks) US |
First published: June 6, 2000
|
| 2002 | Power in Numbers | - | - |
CH96 (1 week) CH |
UK46  (3 weeks)UK |
US15 (12 weeks) US |
First published: October 8, 2002
|
| 2006 | Feedback | - | - |
CH25 (8 weeks) CH |
UK59 (2 weeks) UK |
US15 (8 weeks) US |
First published: July 25, 2006
|
EPs
- 1997: Jurassic 5
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1998 | Jayou Jurassic 5 |
- | - | - |
UK56 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: July 1998
|
| Concrete Schoolyard Jurassic 5 |
- | - | - |
UK35 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: October 1998
|
|
