Jurassic 5
O2 Academy Bristol | 25 June
Etiquette is rarely the priority for rappers, so the gratitude displayed by a recently reformed Jurassic 5 during their sold out show in Bristol is refreshing; in the same year Tupac Shakur fatally interpreted Biggie’s Who Shot Ya as a diss, the members of this LA crew were spitting lyrics about universal brotherhood, a quality that the wider hip-hop world had forgotten in the throngs of coast-to-coast gang violence.
MCs Zaakir, Chali 2na, Akil and Marc 7 have been true to this game for 20 years, celebrating diversity in street culture instead of declaring war on it. Backed by the double-threat of DJs Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist, they immediately set the Academy’s nostalgic crowd alight with a medley of vibe-centric, career-spanning samples and verses. Individually, their voices are distinct and identifiable (none more than the mighty baritone of Chali 2na), but rhyming in unison is the real hallmark of Jurassic. “It’s the brothers on the mic occupying the drum, taking four MCs and make them sound like one” goes the chorus to Improvise, and it’s difficult to argue when each syllable is delivered with such flawless synchronicity.
During a brief interlude, the DJs face off in a scratch match before collaborating with a variety of homemade audio weapons, including an amped up classroom desk and a colossal J5-emblazoned turntable. These sonic experiments are impressive, but easily overshadowed by the second half of the set – an impassioned reaction to classics like Quality Control and Concrete Schoolyard transforms the venue into a sauna, and a series of chilled soul jams are required to cool the place down.
By the time encore What’s Golden rolls around, everyone is too blissed out to care about trifling issues like room temperature; when the show’s over and each of the six members stoop over the barrier to sign tickets and bump fists with fans, the potential of hip-hop to unite and inspire is clear. Without egos or enemies to distract them from what’s real, Jurassic 5 are unrivalled in more ways than one.
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Words: Matt Ayres
Photography: Kay Cornwell
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