Jurassic 5

Talk about being snakebit. Since 1993, when Jurassic 5 first began making noise on the fringes of the Los Angeles hip-hop scene, deck men Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark, abetted by emcees Akil, Marc 7, Zaakir and Charli 2na, have put on consistently great live shows -- a rap rarity...

By Michael Roberts

June 3, 2004

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Talk about being snakebit. Since 1993, when Jurassic 5 first began making noise on the fringes of the Los Angeles hip-hop scene, deck men Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark, abetted by emcees Akil, Marc 7, Zaakir and Charli 2na, have put on consistently great live shows -- a rap rarity. The outfit's discs have been entertaining as well, with an excellent self-titled EP, independently issued in 1998, leading to a deal with Interscope Records, which put out the well-named Quality Control two years later. Unfortunately, the group's new-school take on old-school party grooves failed to seduce CD buyers. With 2002's Power in Numbers, this history was repeated. The album included cameos by Nelly Furtado, Kool Keith and Big Daddy Kane, and thanks to Interscope's muscle, the catchy "What's Golden" was chosen for use in an oft-aired Sprite commercial -- the 21st-century way of getting airplay for an act that's being ignored by radio programmers. Nonetheless, the second full-length underperformed, too, stranding the 5 at the club level again. That's bad news for them, but good news for Fox Theatre regulars, who'll have the opportunity to get relatively up-close and personal with a combo that's much stronger than its sales figures indicate. Fangs for the memories.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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