Represent
Jurassic 5’s Akil on success, Power in Numbers and rocking shows
2003-01-22
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For five years, Los Angeles' preeminent non-blinging, non-gangsta hip-hop crew,
Jurassic 5, has been plugging away, carving a niche for themselves in the growing
indie hip-hop market, and cracking into the major label game, earning themselves
a spot on the Interscope Records roster. But it wasn't until Jurassic 5 - MCs
Akil, Chali 2na, Zaakir (a.k.a. Soup) and Marc 7, and DJs Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark
- released their latest effort, Power In Numbers, that they really started
to be accepted by the hip-hop mainstream.
"I noticed that right off the bat with this record because we're doing a lot more press and there's a lot more awareness in the public," says J5 rapper Akil, who recently managed to take time out of the group's busy touring schedule to field a few questions. A lot of the increased public awareness he speaks of has come from the success of Power In Numbers' first single, "What's Golden," and the song's video, which is getting regular rotation on MTV. The inclusion of songs like "What's Golden" by hip-hop artists like J5 signals a shift in the mainstream; not that bling-bling or gangsta rap are going anywhere anytime soon, but rap groups like Jurassic 5 - crews that are being referred to as "true school" because of their adherence to certain old school hip-hop aesthetics - offer another choice for rap fans.
"I love to see our video in the mainstream, so that people have a choice, so it's not like you get just two options. We like to be another alternative," says Akil, who is also quick to remind that he can't hate on other rap music, even if it isn't his steeze. "I'm not going to front, some of that bling-bling rap is aiight, but on a personal level, I'm not relating to that. I understand it, but it's not something that motivates me. I'm not hating on it, but it's not for me."
Judging by the increased success of Jurassic 5, bling-bling and gangsta rap isn't for all mainstream hip-hop fans either; obviously, Jurassic 5 has connected with people on a more real level. At the same time, however, according to Akil, the group has experienced a little negative feedback from fans not willing to share J5 with the world.
"Some of our fans are like, 'J5 sold out, they're on MTV!'" says a slightly exacerbated Akil. "You have these people who, in one breath, will be like, 'Yo, I don't watch MTV 'cause there's no good hip-hip on there,' and then when people like Jurassic 5 and Talib Kweli get on MTV, they say in another breath, 'Oh man, J5 and Kweli sold out!' It's like, come on man! You just said there wasn't no good hip-hop, and now that there's good hip-hop on there, you still hatin'! So our aim is not to please those people."
In fact, pleasing people isn't necessarily always the point. Since the group first formed and released their groundbreaking self-titled EP in '97, Jurassic 5 has always been about presenting their art as MCs and DJs, and though that's always won them a loyal following among fans of indie and underground hip-hop, it wasn't until the release of Power In Numbers in October of 2002 that the group really started to see the signs of widespread popularity. Akil feels that more mainstream success has come with the new album largely because of lyrical content, and a shift from MCing strictly for the art of it, to using their voices to relate more to the people.
"On Quality Control, I personally felt like I was touching more on where hip-hop was at, but the world's a lot bigger than the underground scene and that core audience," he reveals. "You know man, I live in kinda the ghetto, and I wanted to hear my music coming out of houses and cars in my neighborhood, but I never heard Quality Control being played in my neighborhood. One of the reasons is that we weren't speaking the language of the people - and I'm not saying that we're not down with people, but sometimes you just want to present your art. That's what we did [on the EP and Quality Control], but we knew we'd get the chance to be re-evaluated next time. Power In Numbers was, at least for me, another re-evaluation, lyrically, as far as pushing for music that represented where people are at. Two years passed from when Quality Control came out to Power In Numbers, and since then a whole lot of stuff has gone into the pot, as far as the world goes, you know what I'm saying?"
Akil and J5 may have considered the state of the world more when writing rhymes for Power In Numbers, but a central theme of the crew's music is their hometown Los Angeles. From the album's cover art to the city's reference in song, it's easy to tell that Jurassic 5 get a lot of their ideas and inspiration from their surroundings.
"In Los Angeles, you got diversity, so many different elements," explains Akil. "You got Hollywood, which is real bling-blingy, glamour and glitz and stuff like that. Then you got places like South Central and Watts - the opposite of bling - and what about LA that influences us is that people usually have preconceived ideas of what we're about, being from LA. But we're not gangsters, and we're not from Hollywood either. So more than anything, I think the city inspires us to represent the type of music that we do and the type of regular people that we are."
That philosophy is also evident in Jurassic 5's live show. The six-man crew has been touring the world almost non-stop since Quality Control came out in 2000, and their live show has become a cornerstone of the professional career, because, says Akil, if you can't be real on stage, you're not going to get far in the game.
"We pride ourselves on being able to deliver an entertaining show. Regardless if you're a hip-hop kid from the ghetto or the suburbs, or even if you're into punk rock, whatever, you will leave our show entertained," assures the seasoned MC. "We try to leave the fans with energy at the end of the night, at least the same amount they came in with. I hate going to shows where you can't wait for the performer to play that one song you love so you can go home. So we have routines and set our shows up with a beginning, a middle and an end so it all makes sense on stage, because we come from that era where you just gotta be able rock a nice show. If you can't translate your music like that, then it just ain't workin'."
"I noticed that right off the bat with this record because we're doing a lot more press and there's a lot more awareness in the public," says J5 rapper Akil, who recently managed to take time out of the group's busy touring schedule to field a few questions. A lot of the increased public awareness he speaks of has come from the success of Power In Numbers' first single, "What's Golden," and the song's video, which is getting regular rotation on MTV. The inclusion of songs like "What's Golden" by hip-hop artists like J5 signals a shift in the mainstream; not that bling-bling or gangsta rap are going anywhere anytime soon, but rap groups like Jurassic 5 - crews that are being referred to as "true school" because of their adherence to certain old school hip-hop aesthetics - offer another choice for rap fans.
"I love to see our video in the mainstream, so that people have a choice, so it's not like you get just two options. We like to be another alternative," says Akil, who is also quick to remind that he can't hate on other rap music, even if it isn't his steeze. "I'm not going to front, some of that bling-bling rap is aiight, but on a personal level, I'm not relating to that. I understand it, but it's not something that motivates me. I'm not hating on it, but it's not for me."
Judging by the increased success of Jurassic 5, bling-bling and gangsta rap isn't for all mainstream hip-hop fans either; obviously, Jurassic 5 has connected with people on a more real level. At the same time, however, according to Akil, the group has experienced a little negative feedback from fans not willing to share J5 with the world.
"Some of our fans are like, 'J5 sold out, they're on MTV!'" says a slightly exacerbated Akil. "You have these people who, in one breath, will be like, 'Yo, I don't watch MTV 'cause there's no good hip-hip on there,' and then when people like Jurassic 5 and Talib Kweli get on MTV, they say in another breath, 'Oh man, J5 and Kweli sold out!' It's like, come on man! You just said there wasn't no good hip-hop, and now that there's good hip-hop on there, you still hatin'! So our aim is not to please those people."
In fact, pleasing people isn't necessarily always the point. Since the group first formed and released their groundbreaking self-titled EP in '97, Jurassic 5 has always been about presenting their art as MCs and DJs, and though that's always won them a loyal following among fans of indie and underground hip-hop, it wasn't until the release of Power In Numbers in October of 2002 that the group really started to see the signs of widespread popularity. Akil feels that more mainstream success has come with the new album largely because of lyrical content, and a shift from MCing strictly for the art of it, to using their voices to relate more to the people.
"On Quality Control, I personally felt like I was touching more on where hip-hop was at, but the world's a lot bigger than the underground scene and that core audience," he reveals. "You know man, I live in kinda the ghetto, and I wanted to hear my music coming out of houses and cars in my neighborhood, but I never heard Quality Control being played in my neighborhood. One of the reasons is that we weren't speaking the language of the people - and I'm not saying that we're not down with people, but sometimes you just want to present your art. That's what we did [on the EP and Quality Control], but we knew we'd get the chance to be re-evaluated next time. Power In Numbers was, at least for me, another re-evaluation, lyrically, as far as pushing for music that represented where people are at. Two years passed from when Quality Control came out to Power In Numbers, and since then a whole lot of stuff has gone into the pot, as far as the world goes, you know what I'm saying?"
Akil and J5 may have considered the state of the world more when writing rhymes for Power In Numbers, but a central theme of the crew's music is their hometown Los Angeles. From the album's cover art to the city's reference in song, it's easy to tell that Jurassic 5 get a lot of their ideas and inspiration from their surroundings.
"In Los Angeles, you got diversity, so many different elements," explains Akil. "You got Hollywood, which is real bling-blingy, glamour and glitz and stuff like that. Then you got places like South Central and Watts - the opposite of bling - and what about LA that influences us is that people usually have preconceived ideas of what we're about, being from LA. But we're not gangsters, and we're not from Hollywood either. So more than anything, I think the city inspires us to represent the type of music that we do and the type of regular people that we are."
That philosophy is also evident in Jurassic 5's live show. The six-man crew has been touring the world almost non-stop since Quality Control came out in 2000, and their live show has become a cornerstone of the professional career, because, says Akil, if you can't be real on stage, you're not going to get far in the game.
"We pride ourselves on being able to deliver an entertaining show. Regardless if you're a hip-hop kid from the ghetto or the suburbs, or even if you're into punk rock, whatever, you will leave our show entertained," assures the seasoned MC. "We try to leave the fans with energy at the end of the night, at least the same amount they came in with. I hate going to shows where you can't wait for the performer to play that one song you love so you can go home. So we have routines and set our shows up with a beginning, a middle and an end so it all makes sense on stage, because we come from that era where you just gotta be able rock a nice show. If you can't translate your music like that, then it just ain't workin'."
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