A quick glance at the musical landscape and you get the feeling hip-hop has strayed from its once idealistic self, lost in a sea of empty champagne bottles, ego-trippin\', and fashion jingoism. A vibrant cultural offering, hip-hop music - and its icon - seems relegated to providing a soundtrack for the posturing many. But while "Hip-hop is dead" chants get thrown around by weighty critics more often than new rappers spring into place, this time it\'s different. Hip-hop is not dead. On the contrary, it is alive and well, demonstratively soulful and resonant. Los Angeles crew Jurassic 5 are making sure that point is thoroughly understood with the re-release of their debut, self-titled EP. Consisting of four MC\'s and two DJ\'s, Jurassic 5 is a throwback of sorts, referencing a by-gone era in hip-hop music. In sound, the four MC\'s - Chali 2NA, Zaakir, Akil and Marc 7 - conjure up the dynamic flows of groups like Cold Crush Brothers and Double Trouble: harmonic convergence, tonal vocal inflections, and fly b-boy bravado. Jurassic 5\'s beat-providers, Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark, rock the decks with inventive, original beats that hark back to the true DJ innovators. With Jurassic 5, it\'s a more innocent, irreverent time that comes to mind, from the primordial days of jams in the parks to the creative insurgence of the Native Tongues.Jurassic 5 are not simply old-school revivalists, though. They hail from the eclectic Los Angeles region and are children of the LA hip-hop underground. Between 1991 and 1994, the LA underground was a burgeoning Mecca of hip-hop innovation, possessing a kinetic musical energy and a flare for progressive existence with beats and styles. The members of Jurassic 5 met at the Good Life Café, an open-mic space in the heart of South Central Los Angeles\' old jazz district. The spot served as a prolific epicenter for a number of different groups like the Freestyle Fellowship and the Pharcyde, each wearing originality on their sleeves with emblazoned pride. Undeniably, Jurassic 5 embody that era\'s constant ideals of creation and unity.Just as Jurassic 5 is a convergence of old-school spirit and new-school sensibility, so too are they a literal fusion. They first formed in 1993 as the union between DJ tandem Rebels of Rhythm and rhyming crew Unity Committee for the release of a spontaneous, one-off single cleverly titled "Unified Rebelution." The infectious single made an indelible impression with purists and progressively-minded hip-hop heads, quickly becoming a staple on the college radio and mix-tape circuit.The b-side to Jurassic 5\'s debut single was "Lesson 4", a masterful sonic b-boy collage from DJ Cut Chemist, his personal tribute to preeminent audio alchemists Double D and Steinski. In the last four years, Jurassic 5 DJ\'s Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark have become prominent figures in the DJ and turntablist realm. With remixes for the likes of DJ Shadow and contributions to essential DJ compilations (e.g., "Lesson 6" for Deep Concentration), Cut Chemist is forging a reputation as a charismatic showman with tremendous DJ acumen. Nu-Mark is a wry and witty beat-junkie whose signature tracks reveal his unique wizardry behind the boards.The success of "Unified Rebelution" cemented a union that would become Jurassic 5 and, ever since, the group has become one of the most revered in the independent and underground circles. Their self-titled EP was recorded and released in 1997 and sold nearly 50,000 copies independently before being picked up in the UK and selling additional 70,000 units. Amazingly, in its first week of release, the album cracked the UK Top 40 charts - a signal that hip-hop audiences worldwide were hungry for anything that diverted from the same stale, formulaic sounds.With the new-meets-old craftiness of their debut EP and upcoming full-length album, Jurassic 5 is poised to continuously satisfy that hunger; leading a resurgence of next-school optimism that will reconstruct the hip-hop landscape so that people are lost no longer.
