How J-5 Gets Along

    Eye contact, listening, rhythm, harmony, and a positive attitude is how Jurassic 5 (J-5) gets along. In the first song of their album Quality Control, they let us know that these five elements are the essence of how they get along and get their word out. J-5 sees hip hop and rapping in a different way than most other commercial rappers and MCs that we see today. They advocate different values like religion, peace, unity, dedication, and perseverance. They represent the past to emphasize these values throughout there rhymes. For me, I see J-5 as a rebellion against the rebellion. They don't espouse the anti-establishment values of other hip-hop artists. Instead they support the values I mentioned above. They advocate intellectualism. They identify themselves as scholar warriors. 

   In there title song for the album, Quality Control, they really show the listener how much they are trying to stray away from the average rappers. They aren't trying to show off, even though they may out-smart other rappers with there poetic rhymes and references to literature. In this song they shout out to a number of writers, films and religions. They site Hemmingway's novel For Whom The Bell Tolls, as well as Sun Tzu's Art of War, Kevin Costner's movie Field of Dreams, and religion. I believe religion and unity of race plays a large role in J-5's music. They don't want to single anyone out or cut any one down, they want their music to speak to everyone everywhere. They aren't going to rap about things people don't care about, their words denote materialism and promote education. Saying things like, "fuck yo Lexus" and "perfect verbal architecture, sparking lectures," they want to make sure you realize what they are talking about and that they aren't bragging about anything. Some might say, J-5 raps about 'what it is' instead of other rappers rapping about 'what they are' and how they drive fancy cars and are like movies stars. Jurassic 5, they don't want to be stars. If you don't believe me, listen to their song Lausd

"Yo, we are no superstars

Who wanna be large and forget who we are

Don't judge us by bank accounts and big cars

No matter how bright we shine we're far from being stars

Cause stars fall, and disintigrate before they hit the

Asfalt, they incinerate cause we came

Not to destroy the law but to fulfill

For those who appreciate those with skills

And fresh windmills, and graf that kills

What is a DJ without the scratch to build?

Without the elements, it's all irrelevant

Niggas love to Freestyle but hate to Fellowship"

It's clear that fame and fortune aren't important to Jurassic 5 so they tell you that. They don't want to be superstars, they are far from it. "Stars fall" and they won't so they can't be one, and that's lucky for them because they don't to be. This song is also a great example of J-5's tone and groove they have beneath their rhymes. Thanks to Dj Nu-Mark, the listener has accompanied with Jurassic 5 lyricists an amazing compalation of samples and groovy bass lines to keep the listener engaged with the words. For example just in the 10-12 lines a posted above we've got an audible soundtrack that goes along with the lyrics. Like when the crew talks about "Graf that kills" we hear the shake and spray of a paint can and on the next line we hear the scratch of Dj Nu-Mark as the five asks what a DJ would be without it. And its true, with out that "scratch to build" the music is left alone with out the groove that the DJ applies to the sound. 

    Jurassic 5 is the rebellion against the rebellion. They know whats good and whats not and are proud to preach it. They aren't trying to be "macho males who rap about beers" they would prefer to show you their intelligence and what they think about the world and how to unify it. I personally love their music, and hope you do too.