In the summer of 2000, I was up late watching music videos (as I had a tendency to do), and I came across an incredible song by a group I was entirely unfamiliar with. I spent the following two weeks hunting down the album in music stores where no one working there seemed to be familiar with the group either. After some work, I finally found the album and upon listening, fell in love with hip hop all over again... That album was...
03. Jurassic 5 - Quality Control
On that late evening, when I first discovered Jurassic 5, the song that caught my attention was this album's title track, "Quality Control." Aside from the fact that the song was something incredibly fresh to me, the video was also super entertaining. But the sound was what really grabbed me. I'd never heard 4 emcees rap a verse in unison, and still so so dope. It showcased them as individuals through each of their solo verses, but also as a full functioning group in the first segment, and the hook.
Jurassic 5 - Quality Control
The year 2000 was also the year that I started rapping. Although that's really not too notable, that was the time when I first started paying closer attention to cadence, flow and verse structure. And when it came to those, J5 was leaps and bounds above the Cash Money records that had been piling up in my room... To this day, I credit this album as being the first step I took into the world of "underground/conscious hip hop."
Jurassic 5 - Influence
Aside from the beats, and the technical aspects of the rhyme, another reason I loved the album so much was due to it's content. Their music had meaning and purpose. Songs like, "Contribution," really made me pay attention to the intricacies of the story, and think deeper than the music. Couple that with the amazing production of DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist, and this was just another song that I had on constant repeat...
Jurassic 5 - Contribution
While the album had some throwback sounds, and some deeper lyrics, it also gave everyone something to throw on in the car, and thump while you were cruising. To this day, when I'm putting together a "Cruisin'" playlist on my iPod, I'll add this joint. The crazy schemes, and hype beat are too awesome not to...
Jurassic 5 - The Game
The album as a whole was just something so fresh to me. The perfect blend of old school simplicity with new school flavor. Any rap fan could find at least one beat on the album that would have them going crazy. And the combination of 4 voices into one powerful output was something that was reminiscent of the past, but still so ahead of its time as well. I was blown away by the album when I first heard it, and still love it today...
Jurassic 5 - W.O.E. Is Me (World Of Entertainment)
High Point: Influence. Although Quality Control was my favorite track for a long time, I kinda took more to Influence later. Although I could probably rap both songs front to back...
Low Point: Swing Set. Now, dont get me wrong, this is an amazing composition by DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist, but when I bought this album I didnt expect a jazzy 30's style instrumental track. I have grown to appreciate the song, but at the time, I would always skip it...
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