Jurassic 5/Feedback

The day Jurassic 5 got together as a group was the day Hip Hop was finally saved. In an era where the West Coast was dominated by gangsta and all that, these Los-Angeles based brothers brought back the vibes of the old Native Tongues maintaining a strictly underground attitude, rising to the scene with groups such Dilated Peoples, Defari and Cali Agents, using East Coast-oriented beats and fresh rhymes reminiscin’ about the Old School. Unfortunately “Feedback” was not only the first album that the group recorder without Dj/producer Cut Chemist, which had left the group earlier in 2006, it was the last album that Chali 2na, Akil, Zaakir, Mark 7even and Dj Nu-Mark recorded together at all, before splittin for unknown reasons. What’s left was an album that continued the work J5 had done before, maybe less satisfying than its two (three with the J5 Ep) predecessors, full of mid-80’s Hip Hop references and fresh rhymes from each component.

What’s Hot

1. Back 4 U – Great intro, features a very catchy piano loop over a hard beat, one by one J5 makes sure everyone noticed that they’re back. They forgot to mention it was the last time. Sigh.

2. Radio – Okay. This one will tack you back directly to 1985, if you love Run Dmc’s first album, if you ever wore a kangol and sported a heavy radio on your shoulders, this one’s for you. It’s a tribute to the originators, everyone mentions the moment when Hip Hop crossed their heart for the first time, when ghetto blasters and gold chains were a must. Aaahh, that good ol’ times…

5. In The House – Bpm’s goes up and up, here we turn completely into funk mode. Sounds good as an old Coolio cut, “Smokin' Stix”, it’s a party-vibe track with a lot of 70’s flavor in it.

6. Baby Please – We go uptempo here, this cut is about serious business. Does that woman wants you for your money? Save your funds, while you can!

9. Get It Together – The best beat on the entire album. Period.

10. Future Sound – Another great cut, Akil and Soup trade verses over a very good beat. This one’s sounds good even if 2Na doesn’t speak a word….

15. Canto De Ossanha – Every classic J5 album got his instrumental to close out things. This makes no exception, by the way this is the best instrumental cut put together by Nu Mark.

What’s Not
3. Brown Girl – Not a typical J5 cut, the chorus is simply horrendous.

4. Gotta Understand – The beat is so-so, and the Curtis Mayfield vocal loop is too perseverant.

7. Work It Out feat. Dave Matthews Band– This cut is not really bad at all, but once you listen to it, it’ll leave a commercial taste in your mouth. That’s too soft, too radio oriented, not J5 style. I know that they collaborated with people such as Nelly Furtado, but that was a completely different vibe.

Bottom Line

A very good album, anyway it does not sees the greatness that “Quality Control” and “Power In Numbers” contained. There are two or three missteps that bring the overall quality down, Chali 2Na is not that much present with that monsta voice that bless any drum roll possible, anyway the beats, even without Cut Chemist, are very creative and the overall concept is still different from anything your ears is accustomed to.

0-20: Terrible listening experience

21-40: Maybe one good song

41-60: A few good songs

61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak

81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 85. The fact that it’s not Jurassic 5 best album doesn’t mean that it is not good. It could've been done better, okay, but it's still way above average.

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