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Dusted Reviews
Artist: Jurassic 5 Album: Power In Numbers Label: Interscope Review date: Oct. 17, 2002 |
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Quality Controlled
The wait for what would come next from California sextet (yes) Jurassic 5 is over with the release of Power In Numbers. Considering the sluggish output some of their peers call consistency, two years wasn't a very long time to wait, and yet the labored feel of Power suggests that maybe another year of waiting would have seen a more solid album.
Jurassic 5 align themselves with neither the stagnating world of commercial rap nor the ever-expanding hip-hop underground. Rather, they are in a comfortable place: theirs is not quite a household name, but thanks to a career-long home on Interscope Records and appearances on a few choice package tours, heads, as it were, don't have to look very far to find them. Musically they stand on the hip-hop side of the divide, if for no other reason than the community-oriented and literate nature of their songs. What has come to be the trademark J5 sound––four MCs (Akil, Chali 2na, Marc 7, and Zaakir) rhyming over sample-heavy production from two DJs (Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark)––showed enormous promise on 1999's debut EP and worked wonders the next year on Quality Control. The bright loops and intricate wordplay in spades on those two albums built up that trademark to the point where the group\'s sound was actually distinctive and its laid-back, celebratory feel even more so.
All things considered, Power In Numbers is still proof that Jurassic 5 are very good at what they do. Instead of being an especially bold or dynamic record, however, it only recalls the best moments of Quality Control and EP, seldom reaching their highest peaks. While the verses are just as rapid, intelligent, and fun as they always have been, they seldom last long enough to set in, and the production over which they flow is loop-based to the brink of monotony. The MCs' vocal interplay is colorful and provides a good point of focus, but each song begins with one sample and generally sticks with it until the end. Without the inspiration and innovation one would expect from anyone, let alone the wildly capable Cut Chemist, the unchanging backgrounds are simply unwelcome. When the choruses are shared by all four MCs, as they generally have been in the past, they are much simpler and shallower. Thus, the unison that enhanced older songs like "Quality Control" and "Lausd" sounds bland in comparison on "If You Only Knew" and "One of Them." The unabashed joy of unity and craftsmanship so prevalent in the trademark J5 sound seems hurried when present at all, and consequently Power is on but nothing truly shines.
Yet for all its comparative shortcomings, Power has its highlights. "Remember His Name" showcases a darker approach to lyrics and production before now unseen, and works as one of the record\'s more compelling narratives. "A Day At The Races" (featuring old-school kingpins Percee P and Big Daddy Kane) does justice to the creativity and longevity of the MCs' lyrics and delivery, while the confoundingly catchy affirmation "I Am Somebody" pays homage to J5's funk influences. Cut Chemist finally gets his moment in the limelight in the closing "Acetate Prophets" (the restraint of which maintains the continuity of the album better than his intermittent sample-happy DJ breaks did), and even the unnecessary Nelly Furtado cameo on "Thin Line" manages to remain tastefully understated.
Those looking for an extension of vintage J5 will not find much of it throughout Power; it has its ups among its downs, but even the high points succeed on a less unified plane than older favorites like "Concrete Schoolyard" and "The Influence." Given the quality of Jurassic 5's earlier work, it's hard to appreciate their new album on its own merits, but it's just as hard not to forgive them for trying.
By Daniel Levin Becker
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