Five is the magic number
Having just released their fourth studio album, LA hip hop collective Jurassic 5 have become one of the most respected and popular hip hop groups in the world. Toby Green discovers their secret
Halfway through their set at the Manchester Academy, and the four MCs of Jurassic 5, Chali 2na, Mark 7, Akil and Soup, leave the stage as DJ Nu Mark comes down from his decks to the front and crouches behind what appears to be two Fisher Price ‘tap-a-tune’ playsets connected by myriad wires.
He hits one brightly coloured button, and the crowd laugh as a honk goes through the PA. He hits another button. Then another. And suddenly the crowd isn’t laughing anymore, but gasping as the percussionist-turned-DJ forms a fully formed beat out of a toy designed for an infant connected to a crossfader.
Later on, the whole band do a synchronised bodypop that would have put Peter Crouch to shame, followed by a dance routine to rival N’Sync. This isn’t what you would expect for a hip hop show, a genre of live music that is too often marred by curtailed sets, poor performances and, sadly, violence. But then, as the old cliché goes, Jurassic 5 aren’t your standard hip hop group.
We really are wavering between two musical worlds, or even nine worlds at this point, which has extended our fan base.
Speaking to Nu-Mark and Soup before the show, I was left in no doubt that the five piece collective from Los Angeles never underestimate the importance of playing live. In fact, they readily admit that it is a major reason why they find themselves in the enviable position of having fans who aren’t really into hip hop, whilst maintaining the respect of the underground scene from which they originated. It’s a situation which Nu-Mark jokes is “Like, how did that happen?!” He leans back, and ponders how a group with no hit singles (their biggest hit, Concrete Schoolyard, reached 35 in 1998) manage consistently to sell out their tours across the world.
“I think it’s because people open their minds to us because we open our minds to other genres of music, especially when touring. 9 out of 10 of our peers would have turned down a tour like the Warped Tour (a punk and rock US festival) that doesn’t have the traditional hip hop crowd, but we treated it as a challenge and exposed our music to the fans, who were like ‘Oh, I wasn’t really feeling hip hop before and I’ve never really listened to it, but you guys have opened my eyes.’
“We haven’t just done punk tours as well, we’ve played with Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple as well as Lauryn Hill and OutKast. We really are wavering between two musical worlds, or even nine worlds at this point, which has extended our fan base. The power of our show is that it paraphrases what our albums are all about, and once you see us the music becomes a bit more palatable to you.”
The crowd at the Academy is the mix that you would expect from a Jurassic 5 audience, with middle class white kids still in the skater phase alongside serious hip hop heads and local MCs trying to sell homemade mix tapes out the front. Yet when the deep bass voice of Chali 2na commands everyone to scream whenever he says Manchester, no-one is self conscious enough to resist. For Soup, it’s a simple formula. “People want to be entertained and we do that, that’s why we have such a wide audience. Whatever genre of music you’re playing, when you go to a show you want to be entertained. We make sure we get people involved in our show. It’s not just four guys standing still up there, we’re always interchanging, you’ve got Nu-Mark with his toys and there’s a range of different vocal ranges with the four guys.”
However, after the release of the group’s fourth album, Feedback, there have been whispers that, God forbid, Jurassic 5 might be making a concerted effort to reach the mainstream. A variety of different styles pervade the LP and the first single, ‘Work It Out’, is a collaboration with folk rock band, The Dave Matthews Band. However any suggestion that the ‘crossover’ feel of the record is cynical is crushed by Soup.
“Feedback does have a breadth of different styles compared to the previous albums, but that was just where the music took us. I’ve never been a fan of people who come out with new records and boast that it’s got everything you would ever need, a dance track, a soul track etc because I’ve never liked that. That’s contrived. If it was a beat we liked we did verses to it, whatever the style. The beat carried us in the direction that we went, and that’s why, although there’s a lot of different styles on the record, it still has that cohesiveness.”
The thing about Jurassic 5 is that it’s
a team effort, it’s always been that way and it always will.
Similarly, Nu-Mark has no worries about the consequences of their developed sound. “I hope we’ve been reaching a different audience this time, it’s always good to expand and you don’t wanna just keep preaching to the converted. Our fans have really supported us from day one and everything, but we grew up listening to our favourites on the radio in LA. It’s good to be heard, otherwise we would have never pressed up CDs in the first place. Radio is a very powerful medium, it’s the hugest microphone you can have.”
Although stations such as Radio 1 haven’t caught on to the group in the same way as Jay-Z or OutKast, their UK fanbase certainly does not seem to be suffering. Every night on the tour is sold out, and it’s a crowd that responds as strongly to the old stuff, if not more so, as to the cuts from the latest LP. It’s not just a one-way thing though; the group genuinely seem to love playing over here with a exhilarating live version of ‘At The Races’ recorded at Brixton Academy making it onto Feedback as a bonus track.
“Yeh we love it over here,” drawls Soup. “It’s always good to be back. We’re big fans of your music as well. Roots Manuva is dope (the South London rapper is a close friend of Chali 2na and the duo have tagteamed on a number of tracks), Dizzee Rascal is good, Skinnyman as well and The Streets have some songs that aren’t too bad. People in the US, they’re always interested in what you guys are doing over here, although maybe not so much of the hip hop. Dance more so though, when Soul2Soul were cracking it was like yeah, there was a real big buzz. But it is a little harder for UK artists in the States.”
Nu-Mark cuts in. “Yeh it’s really hard for you guys with the hip hop. I recently did a mix CD of international hip hop and people were like, ‘Wow I didn’t know France got down like that, and Japan as well.’ And it’s really tough out there as everywhere just plays American stuff.”
Later on in the show, and Jurassic 5 show their experience in the live arena as they produce one of the best sets I have ever witnessed. Despite such a hardcore fanbase, everyone in the room is satisfied as song after song is rolled out, with all four albums represented. A lot of the show is taken up with medleys, often with just a verse and a chorus being performed, but the tightness of the group makes the switches more awe-inspiring than frustrating. Frequently rapping their complicated rhymes in unison, they also give a masterclass in tag team hip hop, with two often taking to the stage at a time, interacting expertly.
Anyone thinking that the show is just too slick for a true hip hop band is left with no doubts of their underground origins and remaining credibility as they take turns to freestyle as an encore and invite frequent collaborator and up-and-coming New York MC, Percy P, to spit a verse a capella. Apart from his Sesame Street-style interlude, Nu-Mark stays at the decks but his impressive skills still catch your ear, with scratching that is not only technically perfect but fits in flawlessly with the whole live experience whilst maintaining the band’s spontaneity.
This is even more impressive considering that, up until eight months ago, he was joined at the decks by DJ Cut Chemist, who left the group to concentrate on his solo work. However, the transition from a six piece to a five piece seems to have been relatively smooth. “It was something I was afraid of,” said Soup. “People get their favourites in the group, and they could have been like, ‘oh it was better when so and so was in it’, but I haven’t heard that. When I hear people saying that the show was amazing, that’s when I know people love the music and it’s not whether one person is here or not.”
As the band leave the stage to one of Nu-Mark’s trademark instrumentals, they genuinely appear to love and believe in the live arena. Despite losing a founding member and their move over 16 years from underground hip hop gigs to selling out venues across the world, they still enjoy making music together, both in the studio and on the road. Nu-Mark sums up their ethic. “The thing about Jurassic 5 is it is completely a team effort, it’s always been that way and it always will.”
