Track Listing

1. In the flesh
2. Quality control part II
3. Jayou
4. Lesson 6
5. Concrete schoolyard
6. Setup
7. Action satisfaction
8. Sausage gut
9. Improvise
10. Blacktop beat
11. Without a doubt
12. Lesson 6 (1) (Reprise)
13. Cuts and scratches
14. Action satisfaction dub

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28277 in Music
• Released on: 1998-06-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
When people talk about the resurgent hip-hop underground of the late 1990s, they're usually talking about the West Coast, Northern Cali uprising--and when they talk about that movement, chances are good that, somewhere between Company Flow and the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, there will be some mention of Jurassic 5. Their self-titled EP features the group's deep lyrical skills flip-flopped with DJ Cut Chemist's supreme turntable compositions. ("Lesson 6: The Lecture" is a classic DJ cut, building a hip-hop collage of samples out of scraps from an old instructional music record.) The format is typical for '90s hip-hop--an oversize crew of rappers passing the ball back and forth--but the vibe from the six-man pack of Jurassic 5 is still something of a throwback to a Last Poets or Pharoahs block party. Piano and flute loops weave through tracks like "Jayou" and "Concrete Schoolyard" and bring you to a place of higher consciousness, but the place where the MC skills truly meet the DJ skills is the anomalous cut-up funk of "Action Satisfaction," in which J5 teach the true meaning of sharing. --Todd Levin

Customer Reviews

mmmmmm nice!
This EP from L.A's J5 is bangin' the two DJs Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist lace some nice funky beats for the four mc's to spit over. This is old skool hip-hop at it's finest and is reminiscent of Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five in fact if you listen to some of The Furious Five's tracks you'll notice some similarities in rhyme style. This album is bound to have you head nodding to tracks like Jayou and Concrete Schoolyard i also like the skit "sausage gut". Don't sleep on this album and get buying it and buy their full length album "Quality Control" that's even better!

We got the action.... satisfaction!
It was a great week for Hip Hop when Jurassic 5 blasted back on the scene with their self titled LP. Bridging the gap between the long standing east coast/west coast conflict, Hip Hop fans found an album that didn't discriminate - and at long last, was 'all about the music'.

Vaguely reminiscent of the 'good time' feeling that came with groups such as De La Soul & Tribe Called Quest in the early 90's, Jurassic 5 made their mark in the penultimate year of the century by returning to the old school vibe with some seriously new school ideas an lyrics. Intellectual ryhmes merged with funky downtown beats made this the Hip Hop buy of '98.... and '99....and if you haven't got it yet - well then......

The only thing that I would put forward as a down point is that J5 isn't long enough, and at times you feel that they may be 'filling in' between the really outstanding tunes such as "Concrete Schoolyard", "Jayou" and "In The Flesh". Still you have to take the view that these fillers are better than silence, and although short - are never of a lesser quality. As an album J5 can be marked as no less than an outstanding debut. J5's album is one that can span all ages, cultures and vibes without losing it's credibilty or standing as a landmark in the new wave of Hip Hop.

No Rabbit in a hat Tricks
The line out of Concrete Playground sums it up really - "lets take you back to the concrete streets, original beats with real live MCs, playground tactics, no rabbit-in-a-hat tricks, just that classic rap from Jurassic".

Its the kind of music you can't put a date to, it stands the test of time better than the 2Pac tripe that requires Elton John or Billy Joel or some other bilge as a backing track cos no one could be bothered to write their own.

This is what I suppose people would call Old Skool, and it is a great album, and an amazing debut!