The thing about Jurassic 5 is that you tend to forget how good they were at their peak. Those records: Jurassic 5, Quality Control and Power In Numbers were proof that hip hop did not need to be Afrocentric or gangsta to be important; they proved that hip hop could be fun, emotional and even parabolic. When J5 peaked, they were the best easy-listening crew in the world, and while that might come off as a backhanded compliment, it was and remains a refreshing counterpoint to the oh-so-serious auteurs of the genre. It’s hard to know if this was a superannuation tour or a genuine reformation of the group, who split in 2007 citing that diplomatic cliché “artistic differences”, but whatever the motive for the reunion, they looked like they were having fun.
Zaakir, Marc 7, Akil and the irrepressible Chali 2na walked out on stage one by one dropping their individual verses to After School Special, before seamlessly rattling off another seven tracks, including Monkey Bars, Influence and Desk (Hip-Hop History) without pausing for breath. At first, the crowd wanted to cheer, but with Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark playing scratch-wars against each-other on either side of the stage, there wasn’t time to, we all quickly caught on that J5 didn’t want us standing around and clapping, they wanted hips shaking and booties grooving.
If that sounds lame, it’s true that there’s a touch of macaroni cheese to their entire operation, but it was pulled off with the effortless flow of a group who land on each others’ notes with remarkable fluidity and accuracy honed from years of globetrotting together. Dropping the evergreen Quality Control and Concrete Playground as a formidable jab and cross, they highlighted their pop accessibility, but balanced out the radio anthems with fan favourites like Jayou to show off how deep their batting order plays. For the first 50 minutes, it was almost the perfect gig, bereft of any corny crowd involvement techniques that have bogged down the recent gigs of contemporaries like De La Soul.
But as the set grew older, our masterful MCs grew wearier and started to lean on those godforsaken group interview activities. “Now Melbourne, I want everyone to put their lighters and phone lights in the air while we blah, blah, blah.” Seriously. Like they’re Aerosmith. Moments like these that plagued the second half of the performance were teeth-gnashingly bad, but most of all, unnecessary. The crowd they had in front of them did not need winning over, they were devoted fans, screaming every line of every verse as if they were memorised like wedding vows. So why get us to put our hands in the air every third song? Just rap your hearts out and we’ll dance ‘til our legs hurt.
They finished the set with Freedom and Thin Line (sans Nelly Furtado, of course), which being the first bona fide ballad of the evening, exemplified the varied tones and textures of the MCs voices, a key element of J5’s stories. But they were far from finished with us, dishing out an extra 13 songs over two encores, cementing the observation that they really were enjoying themselves onstage. Taking requests from diehard punters crushed against the barrier, they dropped If You Only Knew before wrapping up with a suite of Jurass Finish First, A Day At The Races and a bass-heavy powerhouse rendition of their classic cut What’s Golden. There was some awkward synchronised dancing at the end, but the less said about that the better, though it was amusing watching how much Cut Chemist was clearly hating the routine. Judge the legacy of Jurassic 5 not on their dad jokes and hokey sentimentality, but their rhymes, because those they showed will remain eternally fresh.
BY CHRISTOPHER LEWIS
Photo by Ian Laidlaw
Loved: A seminal collective playing 90 minutes of expertly executed hip hop.
Hated: Cheesy crowd interactions: “When we say J, you all say 5”. We get it guys.
Drank: Some very un-Victorian schooners.
