A Jurassic World
After almost a decade of groundbreaking music, Jurassic 5 disbanded. But now the hip hop stars are back.
by Samuel J. Fell
In the early 1990s,
as gangsta rap gathered momentum propelling hip hop onto the world stage while
at the same time dividing a culture that’d been building, positively, since the
1970s, a new crew formed in the sweaty clubs of South Central Los Angeles –
Jurassic 5, four MCs and two DJs, a group disinterested in the flash and
posturing offered up by their more thuggish counterparts, preferring instead a
lyrical, beat-laden alternative – hip hop about the sound and furthering the
culture, not just guns, ganja and girls.
“J5 is really two groups formed as one, plus me,” explains
DJ Nu-Mark, also known as Mark Potsic, on the origins of the collective. “Rebels
Of Rhythm was Akil and Soup, and Unity Committee was Chali 2na, Marc 7 and Cut
Chemist… I got to know the group from a club called Rat Race.
“[So] Cut had a beat that he wanted to invite Rebels Of
Rhythm on as guests [which] resulted in a song called ‘Unified Rebelution’.
This joint made us think that we could possibly become a pretty powerful group
with all six of us moving in one direction. There was an inherent
chemistry between us from the beginning, not only in the music and layout, but
our personalities and outlook on hip hop and its rich history.”
From that cut, the
group solidified, releasing a self-titled EP in 1997, which was then repackaged
with extra tracks and released as an LP the following year. Quality Control followed in 2000, Power In Numbers in 2002. Not long
afterwards, Cut Chemist left the group to pursue a solo career, and the
remaining members released Feedback
in 2005, before disbanding, a move which left the alternative hip hop community
mourning an act which had come to exert great influence on the scene.
“There's many reasons why the group disband,” Nu-Mark
explains. “One thing I remember was being in the studio and having nothing
left to say on tape. Sometimes you have to step out of a group dynamic and
receive life’s experiences on your own in order to share something to the world
artistically; I know for me that was especially the case.
“I was very content being the DJ/Producer that hid behind my
hat in the back, far away from the spotlight, [but] once the group broke up, I
was left with a big decision to work solo or take time off.”
Nu-Mark released a solo record, Broken Sunlight, and also dove into production projects, working
with the likes of Large Professor, Bumpy Knuckles, J-Live, Quantic, A-Skillz,
Tiron & Ayomari, as well as Australia’s own Hilltop Hoods. “They reached
out to me for beats for their upcoming album,” he explains, referencing the
Hoods’ 2009 record, State Of The Art.
“They also reached out to Pharoahe Monch, who is easily in
my top five greatest MCs of all time. The story that Matt (Lambert, aka DJ
Suffa) from Hilltops told me is that they gave Pharoah 20-some beats from their
camp and he picked the one beat I gave them,” he goes on with a laugh. “Maybe
I should have played the lottery that day. Anyway, the Hilltop cats and I
have always got along really well… I’m glad that track, ‘Classic Example’, made
it on the album.”
From the dark then, and back into the light, the group
reforming in 2013 to play Coachella, which was followed up by an appearance at
Glastonbury last year. This year, they head to Australia to play Bluesfest, as
well as a clutch of sideshows, the group seeming to be back in the swing, their
rhythmic lyrical stylings once more a part of an alternative hip hop scene
still thriving, albeit not so much in shadow any more.
“I think
money was a big factor in bringing the group back, to be honest,” says
Nu-Mark. “We were being offered three times what we use to get in artist
fees, and I think the time apart from each other helped heal some internal
wounds. But at the end of the day, when J5 steps on stage, all the extra
background noise and static is left behind us and we enjoy rockin’ a crowd to
the ceiling.”
“These days
the band simply takes it one day at a time; the industry has changed so dramatically
from when we started,” he adds. “We really approach each day at a time and take
it step by step. There's still a lot of focus on our solo careers, but we
take our performance and fan interaction seriously.”
As to whether or not the group are looking to record once
more (there has been talk of a live recording), the answer is contained deep
within a Jurassic 5 vs The Pharsyde mix Nu-Mark released this week – “Are you guys
workin’ on a new album?” asks a kid, sampled in. “Uhhh,” is the reply, before
the sampled kid says, “Great.” Not a definitive answer, but a nod toward the
affirmative.
“If I hear the five heartbeats’ vibration, well, then I'm
there creating some heat,” says Nu-Mark with a smile.
No comments:
Post a Comment