Jurassic 5

Though there's actually six of them, Jurassic 5 got everything else right on their self-titled debut EP. Part of the new rap underground of the late '90s (along with <a href="spotify:artist:0y0VESpVYa8xyNAxu77kcS">Company Flow</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0Mz5XE0kb1GBnbLQm2VbcO">Mos Def</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7dr3cSEOIZ6tBrm4y1wsnr">Dr. Octagon</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5lJnfB6AdyWuHfrkspuspn">Sir Menelik</a>), the sextet -- rappers Marc 7even, <a href="spotify:artist:1ZJlXFkFDBsjSuYyjVcMkk">Chali 2na</a>, Zaakir, and <a href="spotify:artist:6vDZr3rdowvcV1fXfWsh9l">Akil</a>, plus producers <a href="spotify:artist:4743DlrFCsAlAV4N26Kdgh">Cut Chemist</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:63NJf4MSV6H56QfpEkUZoy">DJ Nu-Mark</a> -- came together in 1993 at the Los Angeles café/venue named the Good Life. The six members were part of two different crews, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee; after collaborating on a track, they combined into Jurassic 5 and debuted in 1995 with the "Unified Rebellion" single for TVT Records. At the tail end of 1997, the Jurassic 5 EP appeared and was hailed by critics as one of the freshest debuts of the year (if not the decade). Both <a href="spotify:artist:4743DlrFCsAlAV4N26Kdgh">Cut Chemist</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1ZJlXFkFDBsjSuYyjVcMkk">Chali 2na</a> are also part of the Latin hip-hop collective <a href="spotify:artist:1An0HCtDktvCBDdFEu7HC0">Ozomatli</a>, while <a href="spotify:artist:4743DlrFCsAlAV4N26Kdgh">Chemist</a> himself recorded several mixtapes plus the wide-issue album Future Primitive Soundsession (with <a href="spotify:artist:5j1S9wEIjni0R7URlHhbVr">Shortkut</a> from <a href="spotify:artist:74tKoyDq7xSvvgUXUU1FHG">Invisibl Skratch Piklz</a>). The year 2000 found the group on tour with <a href="spotify:artist:3g2kUQ6tHLLbmkV7T4GPtL">Fiona Apple</a> and on the Warped Tour, just in time for the release of Quality Control that summer. Live work continued during 2000-2001, and a second record (Power in Numbers) appeared by the end of 2002. Jurassic 5 earned new fans -- many outside of hip-hop -- by playing some unconventional venues, including Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and the Warped Tour. By 2006, <a href="spotify:artist:4743DlrFCsAlAV4N26Kdgh">Cut Chemist</a> had left the group to pursue his production and DJ ambitions; the remaining quintet enlisted producers including <a href="spotify:artist:0rlS0SzVFk8BoiAW0fGBbN">Salaam Remi</a>, Scott Storch, and <a href="spotify:artist:4r4XYZJUeeKCcrkvi7voDP">Exile</a> (as well as in-house talent <a href="spotify:artist:63NJf4MSV6H56QfpEkUZoy">DJ Nu-Mark</a>) to record their third full LP, Feedback, released in July 2006. Less than a year later, however, the group called it quits, citing "musical differences." They reunited in spring 2013, playing Coachella and later announcing a full summer tour. ~ John Bush, Rovi