Jurassic 5: Biography

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• The Pharcyde
• Dr. Octagon
• Cyclops 4000
• DJ Spooky
• Company Flow
• Juggaknots
• Mos Def

• Afrika Bambaataa
• Freestyle Fellowship
• De La Soul
• A Tribe Called Quest
• Common
• Jungle Brothers
• Gang Starr

• The Procussions
• Heiruspecs
• Mental Afro
• Gatas Parlament
• Brassmunk
• Deux Process
• Antipop Consortium

• Oddjobs
• Chali 2na
• Cut Chemist
• Unity Committee
• Baba

Formed:

Jan 1, 1993 in Los Angeles, CA

Disbanded:

Jan 1, 2007

Genres:

Rap & Hip-Hop Music, Underground Rap Music

Decades Active:

1990's|2000's

Artistic Quality

Medium

Cultural Impact

Medium

Popularity

Low

Ratings Guide

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 Company Flow, Mos Def, Doctor Octagon, and Sir Menelik), the sextet -- rappers Marc 7even, Chali 2na, Zaakir, and Akil, plus producers Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark -- came together in 1993 at the Los Angeles cafe/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 Cut Chemist and Chali 2na are also part of the ~Latin-hop collective Ozomatli, while Chemist himself recorded several mix-tapes plus the wide-issue album Future Primitive Soundsession (with Shortkut from Invisibl Skratch Piklz). The year 2000 found the group on tour with Fiona Apple and on the ~Warped Festival, 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.

- John Bush, All Music Guide