Los Angeles' hip-hop group
Jurassic 5, born from the fusion of the "Unity Committee" posse and the "Rebels of Rhythm" posse, featured turntablist Cut Chemist (Lucas MacFadden),
DJ Nu-Mark and
rappers Marc 7even, Chali 2na, Zaakir and Akil.
They debuted with the
single Unified Rebellion (1995) and the nine-song EP
Jurassic 5 (1997), produced by Cut Chemist and containing two
staples of their repertory:
Jayou and Concrete Schoolyard.
Their exuberant and amusing Quality Control (2000) resurrected
old-school hip-hop of groups like
A Tribe Called Quest: the three rappers
taking turns at the mike and a
barbershop-style choir that sings a simple refrain.
Jurass Finish First is a
good example of retro-rap that brings back the 1980s, but they can vary on
that style from the
frantic Monkey Bars to the
somnolent Quality Control.
Cut Chemist proves to be already a virtuoso of the turntable in Swing Set and The Influence.
Power in Numbers (2002) continued in that vein, but with more
creative beats sculpted by Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark.
The rapping is nothing to write home about, but
the way a flute sample derails
the jazzy If You Only Knew or a
trombone sample adds an extra rhythm to the
folksy High Fidelity
is a little magic.
There are moments of high-energy rapping (A Day At The Races and the festive and funky I Am Somebody) that redeem the generally mediocre vocals.
A standout is What's Golden, with a catchy beat and effective organ and sax samples, but,
by far, the highlight (and one of Cut Chemist's peaks) is the
African-tinged instrumental jam Acetate Prophets that closes the album.
Just like it's predecessor, the album is weakened by too much filler and the
general derivative feeling.
Live at the Future Primitive Sound Session (1997) was a collaboration
between Cut Chemist and Invisibl Skratch Piklz' Shortkut.
DJ Nu-Mark debuted solo with Hands On (2004).
Jurassic 5's wizard turntablist Lucas "Cut Chemist" MacFadden rediscovered the
jovial childish art of audio collage on his first solo,
The Audience Is Listening (Warner, 2006), one of the many albums inspired by DJ Shadow's Entroducing.
It begins with the
hilarious country-music skit of Motivational Speaker and continues
with the
hilarious tribal-African skit Big Break, that suddenly morphs into a breakneck-speed rockabilly. It criminally indulges in revisions/parodies of
orchestral Latin music (The Garden) and
piano jazz (Spat).
It unleashes the
space-age dance instrumental Metrorail Thru Space
and rolls out the
psychedelic blues jam 2266 Cambridge.
It runs amok with the snappy hip-hop jam Storm and then turns
intellectual with the
deconstructed thriller film atmosphere Spoon.
And the parade of impersonations culminates with the
soulful and sprightly rhythm'n'blues shuffle A Peak In Time.
Recorded live with Cut Chemist on turntable, mixer and delay,
Sound Of The Police (Stable Sound, 2010) was built up from
sampling obscure exotic vinyl records, a virtuoso performance by one of the
greatest turntablists around.
Cut Chemist was missing from Jurassic 5's anemic Feedback (2006) and the
difference was obvious. The instrumental Canto de Ossanha was the
only track to deliver intriguing form.
Cut Chemist resumed his solo career a decade later with The Audience's Following (2016) and Die Cut (2018).