Jurassic 5

Despite comprising six members in total, Jurassic 5 lived up to its billing on the self-titled debut EP. Emerging alongside Company Flow, Mos Def, Dr. Octagon, and Sir Menelik as part of the late-’90s rap underground, the group—rappers Marc 7even, Chali 2na, Zaakir, and Akil together with producers Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark—formed in 1993 at the Good Life, a café and performance space in Los Angeles. Its participants had previously belonged to separate crews, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee, before uniting under the Jurassic 5 name after a joint track. The collective issued its first recording, the “Unified Rebellion” single, on TVT Records in 1995. Critics greeted the Jurassic 5 EP, which surfaced at the close of 1997, as among the year’s most invigorating releases, if not the decade’s. Cut Chemist and Chali 2na also contribute to the Latin hip-hop ensemble Ozomatli, and Cut Chemist issued multiple mixtapes along with the full-length Future Primitive Soundsession, recorded in tandem with Shortkut of Invisibl Skratch Piklz. In 2000 the sextet toured with Fiona Apple and appeared on the Warped Tour, coinciding with the summer arrival of Quality Control. Concert activity persisted through 2000–2001, culminating in the late-2002 release of Power in Numbers. By performing at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and the Warped Tour, Jurassic 5 attracted listeners beyond hip-hop circles. Cut Chemist departed in 2006 to focus on solo production and DJ work, after which the remaining five members recruited Salaam Remi, Scott Storch, Exile, and in-house talent DJ Nu-Mark to shape the third album, Feedback, issued that July. Within a year the band dissolved amid “musical differences,” yet reunited in spring 2013 for a Coachella appearance and a subsequent full summer tour.