Customer Reviews

Jurassic 5

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Perhaps that's an overstatement, but this EP is tight nonetheless. For all of those asking for the LP, I don't know where you're at, but in Canada, there is a 13 song LP out. Also, the version of this EP I have has 9 songs, it came out earlier. Either way, this is a total classic. Any hip hop fan who hasn't heard "Jayou", "Concrete Schoolyard", "In The Flesh", or "Action Satisfaction" must have something wrong with them. The full LP also features another classic, entitled "Without a Doubt" (which some of you may have heard on the second Beat Junkies mixtape). If you like this, definitely give Blackalicious a try, another wicked old school hip hop band. And don't listen to the reviews saying that the beats aren't good, Cut Chemist and NuMark did a great job...

Oh, and J-5 recently got signed on Interscope. I can't say I'm happy about it, but I don't know if it's possible for J-5 to really sell out, they're just too damn good.

Jurassic 5 is the best thing to happen to hip-hop in a long time. Don't get me wrong, I love The Roots, Black Star, Common, etc. but none of them come close to matching Jurassic 5's ability to transform hip-hop into music that displays soulful cohesion as well as mind-warping percussive vocal skills. What makes them stand out is that they are songwriters: the choruses are truley melodic, and the backing tracks carefully build momentum from rapper to rapper. This makes for good listening whether they are background at a party, support for moving hips, or a sit down experience for the true hip-hop head. Also check out Cut Chemist's dj track on the album. It is a hilarous and funky tour of old science instruction lps, probably from the 50s. At one point mixing frank sinatra and john bonham. Bottom line: I haven't played this album for anyone who didn't like it. Buy it now.

This little EP boosts some of the freshest rhymin' and bumpin'est beats around. J5 prove that new perspectives and creativity aren't simply Bay Area traits. This EP is a must have, but where's the LP?

Just when you've lost all faith in the skills of your everyday MC, out of nowhere comes Jurassic5. These guys twist and turn through a lyrical playground leaving the listener bobing their haeds and repeating each word with great vigor. These fellas are on point, they hold nothing back, coming at you with crazy beats provided by Cut Chemist and silly cazoo solos. This is the future of hip-hop. If it isn't then I am selling all my stuff and buying nothing but Country!

I really like this song. The skatevideo company, 411, used it in episode 30.

The only drawback to this otherwise great album is its length. After one or two listens, I was hooked by the great samples, strong lyrics and over-all smooth production. But unfortunately the album runs a short 30 minutes and leaves you craving for more.

"Music Fan From NYC"'s review of The Jurassic 5's "J5 EP" is laced with the worst elements of music appreciation -- music is a visceral medium which is gauged strictly upon personal taste and aesthetics -- no other individual governs what another person listens to if the standard credo regarding individual autonomy and liberty are to be subscribed to within the context of music. Even if praise is lauded after a commercial profile has been established, this in no way negates the rewards derived from listening -- if a person has in his or her possession the original "Apache" 12" single on TK Records out of Florida and you don't -- "Music Fan From NYC" -- does this inherently determine that the other party is more of a true hip-hop fanatic than you? Methinks not -- if you're a latecomer to the party, so be it... Ain't nothin' wrong with enjoying music whether it be from the 14th century or 21st, regardless of whether or not it's on 8 track, cassette, CD, DVD, and/or vinyl. Some people need to return to reality from the pomposity-tainted lofty positions from which they deliver unsubstantiated sermons since the only people in need of convincing may be in fact themselves.

The Jurassic 5's (a Southern California collective boasting 1 Charli 2na and DJ Cut Chemist, both of whom also moonlight in the Latin inflected Ozomatli) "J5 EP" may have been the best release in all of hip-hop last year. Sporting old school grooves as well as a call and response delivery, The Jurassic 5 harken back to an earlier era of rap, recalling the best moments of the then Sugarhill Records-dominated landscape. "Concrete Schoolyard" is the obvious "commercial" cut although the EP is recommended in total. The import only "J5 LP" on PIAS (Play It Again Sam)/Pan Recordings out of Europe fleshes out the EP with some additional numbers that insert easily into and add to the bountiful continuum. Look the domestic debut Interscope Records release sometime around the summer of '99 -- it's currently in production at the time of this review (March '99).

I WISH THAT THEY WOULD MAKE ANOTHER ALBUM AND I'LL BE THE FIRST ONE IN LINE TO GET IT...THEY BE BUSTIN SOME TIGHT RHYMES AND PHAT BEATS...THEY JUST ROCKS...I GOT THIS ALBUM LIKE THE FIRST WEEK THEY CAME OUT...UNDERGROUND HIP HOP RULES...THE ORIGINAL B-BOYS WILL RISE TO THE TOP...

Even though it is only an EP it is deffinitely worth it. Cut Chemist is insanely entertaining. Chali 2na is one of the best MCs in hip-hop.