QUALITY CONTROL

Jurassic 5 flexed serious old-to-the-new muscles in the '90s,

beginning with their independently released single

"Unified Rebelution" in 1994, and book-ending with their stellar debut

full-length: 2000's Quality Control. They walked a tightrope between

underground and mainstream hip-hop, and toured alongside rap peers

as well as punk rockers on the Vans Warped Tour.

With doublethe pleasure ofyouraverage hip-hop group - two DJsand

producers (Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark); and four MCs (Chali 2na,

Akil, Marc 7 and Zaakir aka Soup) - they brought the late 1970s

"unison MC" style of pioneering groups like the Fantastic 5 and the

Force MCsto a new generation. Even moresurprisingly, they did so out

of Los Angeles, whose hip-hop flavors generally leaned towards

Gangsta, G-Funk or Electro lines. Musically inventive and lyrically

forward-thinking, each song on Quality Control is a new adventure,

exploring engaging territory, delivered via one of the best live hip-hop

shows fans had seen in years.

From singles like the strutting groove of the title track to the throwback

doo-wop samples on "The Influence" and the catchy, keyboard

groove-driven "World of Entertainment (WOE Is Me)," to deeper album

tracks like the lyrical gymnastics of "Jurass Finish First" and the

thought-provoking "Lausd," Jurassic 5 consistently stepped to the

plate and their fans responded in kind, nearly pushing the album to

Gold status. Add the innovative DJ-and-sample workout which closes

out the album, "Swing Set," and you have one of the 2000s' most

unique and solid full-length platters.