Underground hip-hop is not something that I listen to everyday, for that matter I hardly never listen to the genre. I don"t have a lot of knowledge about the genre, but what I can tell you is that Jurassic 5 hardly shares any similarities with popular rap artists such as Jay Z, D4L and Eminem. I vaguely remember how I stumbled upon this band, I think when I was purchasing a Beastie Boys album and the sales clerk recommended this album to me. Days later I went back and picked it up for a very cheap price. Although I don"t enjoy Jurassic 5 as much as I do the Beastie Boys I"ll tell you that this is a great hip-hop album. This is Jurassic 5's debut album and it is far superior to their sophomore album.
This is an old school rap album, this means that there are not a lot of electronic noises, and special effects, this is straight up old school hip-hop. The harmonies are smooth and funky, and there are some brilliant hip-hop rhythms, everything is just so damn smooth. When you first listen to this album and even if you listen to it 100 times it will still force you to nod your head to the beats every single time. Everything featured on "Quality Control" is upbeat and fun, the "phat" beats keep things cool and the tight melodies flow together so smoothly. Don"t be concerned, if you want some old-school hip-hop "Quality Control" is a great album for you.
Jurassic 5 combine influences of hip-hop, funk and jazz. The break beats are excellent and although the jazz influences aren"t very big they are still noticeable and effective. Now almost all of these tracks have the same formula, the thing is that the formula never wears thin or gets old. Jurassic 5 go through a few lines of five man harmonics and then someone takes a solo. The solos are jazzy, old-school and very well done. These solos are very rhythmic and flow together very smoothly, Jurassic 5 rarely make mistakes and they keep things very cool, the beats will continue to make your head nod throughout the album. Although I usually don"t enjoy hip-hop solo"s I really enjoy these just because they are entertaining and they have substance. "Quality Control" is very filled with brilliant solo"s, jazzy and funky beats, and the band manages to pull off a true old-school sound.
Jurassic 5 consists of six members including DJ-Nu Mark, Zaakir, Akil, Cut Chemist, Marc Seven, and Chali 2na. Previously these six members were two separate bands, they met in the mid 90's and you can"t even tell that they used to be in separate bands. You can really tell that these guys are having fun, they work so well together. Rotating solo"s, and turn-tables each person does a little bit to contribute to the music and then in result you get some very nice melodies beats and six vocalists. The vocals are very well done, they are simply superb. With six vocalists there can be one main person singing and there can be up to three backing vocalists, things run smoothly and everything seems to rhyme and go together after a few listens. Having six vocalists, Jurassic 5 really use it to their advantage, the double sometimes triple douling vocals really make things interesting, rhythmatic and smooth.
Instrumentally things remain very simple, first I"ll start with the obvious, turntables. You know how it"s done, groovy turn table beats that really gets your head nodding. Once again I don"t know much about hip-hip but these turn table beats are sharp, funky and well done. Now Jurassic 5 keep things a little bit interesting, adding in a brief and occasional piano line, saxophone solo, and funky bass lines. These instruments keep things jazzy and add some substance to get away from the straight up old-school style of the album. Instrumentally "Quality Control" is basic and somewhat formulaic, things get a little jazzy and funky but Jurassic 5 don"t venture away from their old school hip-hop roots.
"Quality Control" is far from a classic hip-hop album. Although this is a solid album, there are some flaws that really hold the album back. First off I think that these songs run together, Jurassic 5 don"t make a good enough effort to keeps these songs from sounding more or less the same. While the vocal solo"s stand out in most of these tracks the sound of the whole album gets formulaic, the heavy turn table beats wear thin and although there are some other instruments incorporated in the sound it simply isn"t enough. These are the only flaws, but sometimes "Quality Control" can be a bore just because Jurassic 5 aren"t inventive enough.
Overall this is a good hip-hop album. "Quality Control" is full of funky melodic beats, smooth vocal deliveries from multiple vocalists, and some groovy bass lines. Almost every song featured on this album will get your head nodding and so will all of the smooth vocal melodies and rhymes, you will feel like a pimp. Jurassic 5 is a six piece hip-hop band, there are a ton of solos throughout this album and they are all very funky and groovy. "Quality Control" is a great album for any fans of rap or hip-hop, and it"s even good if you don"t know much about the genre. Groovy beats, funky rhythms, and smooth vocals, "Quality Control" is a fun listen, but the only thing holding it back is the repetitiveness.
