Quality Control [PA]

Performer: Jurassic 5
Artist: Bernard Purdie
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Jurassic 5: Chali 2NA, Zaakir, Akil, Marc 7, Cut Chemist, DJ Nu-Mark. Additional personnel: Roberto Morena (bass); Bernard Purdie (drums). Producers: DJ Nu-Mark, Cut Chemist, Shafiq Husayn. Engineers: Stefan Neary, Mark Ellis, Cut Chemist. Audio Mixer: Rich Costey. Forgoing the grim lyrical concerns of many of their hip-hop contemporaries, Los Angeles' Jurassic 5 point up a more carefree time in the music's history. Recalling the youthful irreverence of the Native Tongues groups, Jurassic 5's easygoing rhymes and bouncy rhythms reveal a reverence for hip-hop's "old school," when the definition of a good tune was something to rock the party. QUALITY CONTROL maintains an infectious energy level throughout. The MCs all take turns playing what they like to refer to as 'verbal basketball', spouting seemingly stream-of-conscious street poetry. Often the lyrics seem nonsensical; the emphasis here is more on fun and less on violent imagery or consciousness-raising agitprop. As demonstrated by the smart production work of Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark, Jurassic 5 avoid simplistic musical formulae. Many of the sample sources are obscure, and encompass a wide range, from swing and funk, to jazz. Open-minded hip-hop fans will find simple pleasures in QUALITY CONTROL's optimistic and upbeat grooves.

Rolling Stone (6/22/00, p.133) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Breathes new life into old-school hip-hop....taking ill beats mined from the deepest of crates and tweaking them into dirty-funk masterpieces....uncompromisingly intense and hard to resist." Entertainment Weekly (6/23/00, p.102) - "...There is much to love. The 4 MCs are playful and progressive, and the virtuoso DJs quilt vintage funk with surgical scratching and deep-crate sampling..." - Rating: B Q (8/00, p.99) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Pleasant fiction....fashioning sparky new shapes from hip hop's basic ingredients..." Uncut (8/00, p.94) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Draws on De La Soul's back-to-basics beat deconstructions and lateral-thinking word association in artfully dishevelled rambles....Breezy, blunt-smokiing, bohemian hip hop par excellence..." The Wire (6/00, p.49) - "...The record is nice. Upend that frown, spin it on its head and pass the double dutchie on the left-hand side." Mixmag (7/00, p.166) - 4 out of 5 - "...Simple, hands-up, dope beats...and pointed, witty lyricism...that never fails to hit the spot....an album that's sure to appeal to hip hop heads and part-timers alike. Top." CMJ (6/19/00, p.3) - "...A supremely produced modern variation on old school hip-hop...brilliantly balancing the retro purity rooted in post-gangsta rap of the Native Tongues with new school innovation..." The Source (7/00, pp.209-10) - 3.5 mics out of 5 - "...An artful collage of old-school-sounding snare hits, horns, guitar licks and scratches....[it's] an album of rhythms and flows that move with remarkable cohesiveness....an ill album in completely original fashion..." Mojo (Publisher) (7/00, p.98) - "...This is a truly freeflowing masterpiece....the beast are old-skool, party hardy, uptempo horn-stabbing '70s funk variety....Perhaps the time is right for new, ego-free hip hop..." NME (Magazine) (7/1/00, p.45) - 6 out of 10 - "...Fluid interplay and...evolving musicality..."

One of the most popular and artistically engaging groups in the hip-hop underground, Jurassic 5 brought the conscious-rap style of the Native Tongues movement and a cratediggers ear for samples and production to L.A.'s overwhelmingly gangstafied rap scene. With production from the group's own Cut Chemist, J5's 1997 self-titled debut EP is considered an underground classic. The group continued its reverence for the old-school on subsequent releases while remaining decidedly contemporary.

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