Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1993 by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic (DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas Macfadden (Cut Chemist).[1] The six piece crew that was formed, came out of the Los Angeles venue Good Life.[2] The group broke up in 2007,[3] shortly after releasing their fourth LP Feedback, citing "musical differences,"[4] but returned to the stage in 2013 and released a new track in 2014.[5] The members have continued to release music individually.
Jurassic 5 | |
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Jurassic 5 in 2002 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles |
Genres | Alternative hip hop |
Years active | 1995–2007, 2013–present |
Labels | TVT, Interscope, JVC |
Associated acts | Ozomatli, Dilated Peoples, Beat Junkies, Dave Matthews Band, Big Daddy Kane, Heavy D, Percee P, Nelly Furtado, The Pharcyde, Supernatural, Mos Def, DJ Format |
Website | https://jurassic-five.squarespace.com/ |
Members | Akil Zaakir Marc 7 DJ Nu-Mark Chali 2na Cut Chemist |
History
Jurassic 5 debuted nationally in 1995 from TVT Records with their first single, "Unified Rebelution". Jurassic 5 released their first record, Jurassic 5 EP, in 1997. After Jurassic 5 put out their first record, it "cemented their position in the 1990s alternative hip hop movement, alongside artists such as Company Flow, Black Star and Kool Keith." The group later signed to Interscope Records and the EP was repackaged with additional tracks and released in December 1998 as the full-length, eponymous debut album entitled Jurassic 5.[3] In a 2002 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, the group explained the origin of their name. Chali 2na revealed, "I played the song to my friend’s mother and she made a joke: ‘You guys think you sound like the Fantastic Five, but you sound more like the Jurassic Five.’ And we started laughing but, well, the name stuck."[6]
This was followed by their second album Quality Control, which peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200.[7]
In 2002, they released their third album, Power In Numbers which peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Jurassic 5 eventually toured without Cut Chemist,[8] who left the group to pursue a solo career.[9] The remaining five members released their fourth and final album, Feedback, on July 25, 2006. The album peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200.[7]
The group split in 2007.[10] Reasons for the break-up were attributed to disagreements among members of the group.[11]
In 2013, the group re-formed, including the return of Cut Chemist, for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and an international tour, primarily in the UK but also including dates in Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Japan and the United States.[12][13] They played at Glastonbury in 2014 and had a Word of Mouth Reunion Tour during the Summer of 2014.[14]
In 2016, they released their first new song in a decade "Customer Service".[15]
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Jurassic 5 among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[16]
In other media
Jurassic 5's music has been used in several video games. In 2000, "Jayou" was featured in Grind Session. Also in 2000, Jet Set Radio was released in North America including the track "Improvise" from the album Quality Control - though it only appears on the US pressing.[17] All other pressings of the album have the track Concrete And Clay instead - and an instrumental version of the same song. The following year, the track "Great Expectations" from the same album was also included in Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX.[18] In 2002, "What's Golden" was featured on ATV Offroad Fury 2. The song was additionally included in the video game Forza Horizon 3 on the fictional radio 'Block Party'. "A Day At The Races" featuring Big Daddy Kane appeared in the 2003 skateboarding game Tony Hawk's Underground.[19] The song "In The House" from Feedback was featured in NBA Live 06.[20] and "Work it Out" was in NBA Live 07, while "Red Hot" was featured in SSX on Tour.[21] "Sum of Us" and "High Fidelity" from Power in Numbers was included in the 2019 game Trials Rising.
The group featured in the 2001 hip hop documentary Scratch.[22]
They were also featured in online magazine, UrbanSouth's elite list of underground hip hop albums.[23]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [24] |
US R&B [25] |
US Rap [26] |
AUS [27] |
CAN [28] |
FRA [29] |
NZ [30] |
SWE [31] |
SWI [32] |
UK [33] | |||||
Jurassic 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 70 | ||||
Quality Control |
|
43 | 33 | — | — | 51 | — | — | 37 | — | 23 | |||
Power in Numbers |
|
15 | 13 | — | 16 | — | — | 22 | — | 96 | 46 |
|
||
Feedback |
|
15 | 12 | 6 | 36 | 27 | 136 | 39 | — | 25 | 59 | |||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Extended plays
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Jurassic 5 EP |
|
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US R&B [42] |
US Rap [43] |
UK [44] | |||
"Unified Rebelution"[45] | 1995 | — | — | — | Non-album single |
"Jayou" | 1998 | — | — | 56 | Jurassic 5 |
"Concrete Schoolyard" | — | — | 35 | ||
"Improvise" | 1999 | — | 41 | — | |
"Quality Control" | 2000 | 96 | 12 | — | Quality Control |
"W.O.E. Is Me (World of Entertainment)" | 2001 | 94 | 8 | — | |
"The Influence"[46] | — | — | — | ||
"Hard Times" (with The Pharcyde) |
2002 | — | — | — | Straight from the Crates, Vol. 1 |
"What's Golden" | 90 | — | — | Power in Numbers | |
"If You Only Knew"[47] | 2003 | — | — | — | |
"Freedom" | — | — | — | ||
"Thin Line"[48] | — | — | — | ||
"Hey" | 2004 | — | — | — | |
"Linguistics" | — | — | 143 | ||
"Red Hot"[49] | 2005 | — | — | — | Feedback |
"Canto de Ossanha"[50] | 2006 | — | — | — | |
"Work It Out" (featuring Dave Matthews Band) |
— | — | 116 | ||
"Customer Service" | 2016 | — | — | — | Non-album single |
Guest appearances
Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Improvise"[51] | 1999 | Sway & King Tech | This or That |
"Lunchtime"[52] | 2001 | Click Tha Supah Latin | Square Won |
"Verbal Gunfight"[53] | 2002 | none | One Big Trip soundtrack |
Music videos
Title | Year | Director(s) |
---|---|---|
"Concrete Schoolyard" | 1999 | Delaney Bishop[54] |
"Quality Control" | 2000 | Jeff Richter[54] |
"The Influence" | 2001 | Marcos Siega[55] |
"What's Golden" | 2002 | Logan[56] |
"Work It Out" (featuring Dave Matthews Band) |
2006 | The Malloys[54] |
"The Way We Do It" | 2014 | Alex Knudsen |
References
- "Pop: Jurassic 5's monster success" by Tim Perry, The Independent, May 16, 1998.
- by Last.fm, "Jurassic 5", Retrieve April 7, 2012.
- 2na learning to swim alone by Mike Devlin, The Times-Colonist, September 23, 2010
- by John Bush: Rovi, "Jurassic 5 Biography", Retrieved April 7, 2012.
- Minsker, Evan. "Jurassic 5 Sample the White Stripes on "The Way We Do It", Their First New Song in Eight Years". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- "Jurassic 5 Explain Origin Of Their Name". Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- Jurassic 5 Chart History, billboard.com, Retrieved October 18, 2010.
- "www.pixelsurgeon.com". Archived from the original on 11 August 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- "Home - Cut Chemist". Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- "Jurassic 5 announce split". NME. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- "Rapper Bitter About Jurassic 5 Split". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- Pajer, Nicole (April 13, 2013). "Jurassic 5 Talks Reunion, Doc Plans Backstage At Coachella". Billboard.com. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
- Paine, Jake (April 24, 2013). "Jurassic 5 Announces International Summer Tour Dates". Hip Hop DX. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- Pretty Good Digital. "2014 - Glastonbury Festival". Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- "Hear Jurassic 5's First Song In A Decade "Customer Service"". 6 June 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- Rosen, Jody (25 June 2019). "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- Smilebit (October 31, 2000). Jet Grind Radio (Dreamcast). Sega. Level/area: Credits.
- "Soundtrack for Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX announced". GameSpot.com. 2006-05-17. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
- Thorsen, Thor (October 24, 2003). "The Sounds of Tony Hawk's Underground". GameSpot. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
- NBA Live 06 Soundtrack Archived 2007-11-05 at the Wayback Machine, ign.com, September 13, 2005
- SSX On Tour Soundtrack Announced Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, tvg.com, by Jon Wilcox, September 12, 2005
- "Scratch". IMDB. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- "Top 5 underground hip hop albums that will cleanse the soul". UrbanSouth. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- "Jurassic 5 – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Jurassic 5 – Chart History: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Jurassic 5 – Chart History: Rap Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Discography Jurassic 5". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- Peak chart positions for albums in Canada:
- Quality Control: "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 71, No. 10, July 10, 2000". RPM. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- Feedback: "Albums: Top 100 (For The Week Ending 3 August, 2006)". Jam!. July 30, 2006. Archived from the original on August 5, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
- "Discographie Jurassic 5". lescharts.com (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Discography Jurassic 5". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Discography Jurassic 5". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Discography Jurassic 5". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Jurassic 5" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Jurassic 5". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Certified Awards" (enter "Jurassic 5" into the "Keywords" box, then select "Search"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Quality Control by Jurassic 5". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- "Jurassic 5 Fights The 'Power'". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- Bush, John. "Power in Numbers – Jurassic 5". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Jurassic 5 Nabs DMB, Mos Def For New Album". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- Bush, John. "Feedback – Jurassic 5". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "100 Essential Rap EPs – The Best of the Short & Sweet". XXL. September 24, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Jurassic 5 – Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
- "Jurassic 5 – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- Peak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom:
- "Jayou" and "Concrete Schoolyard": "Jurassic 5" (select "Singles" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Linguistics" and "Work It Out": Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: Candy J. – JX". zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Unified Rebellion – Jurassic 5". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- The Influence (track listing). Jurassic 5. Up Above Records. 2001. UA 3117-1.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "If You Only Knew – Jurassic 5". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- Thin Line (track listing). Jurassic 5. Interscope Records. 2003.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "Red Hot – Jurassic 5". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Canto de Ossanha/Turn It Out [Single] – Jurassic 5". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- Conaway, Matt. "This or That – Sway & King Tech". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- Love, Bret. "Square Won – Click Tha Supah Latin". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- Valdivia, Victor W. "One Big Trip – Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- "Jurassic 5". Vevo. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- Schumacher-Rasmussen, Eric (April 5, 2001). "Jurassic 5 Spreading 'Influence' On College Campuses". MTV. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- Moss, Corey (August 7, 2002). "Nelly Furtado, Big Daddy Kane On New Jurassic 5 Album". MTV. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jurassic 5. |