Returning to the fray this year with their eagerly anticipated new album ‘Feedback’, Gigwise caught up with Jurassic Five’s DJ/producer and crux member to discuss all. For those of you that have been living on Mars for the last eight years, the seminal hip-hop outfit first hit fame with their ground-breaking eponymous debut album in 1998. It was an instant classic, with its fresh fusion of old-skool hip hop which sounded straight from the ‘concrete streets’ of Los Angeles. It also perfectly surmised all that the band were about and where they had come from; Nu-Mark explains how they got together, “They [Chali 2Na, Akil, Marc 7 and Zaakir] met in an café in South Central LA called the Good Life…freestyling performances were encouraged and there was no cussing allowed, which encouraged a good use of vocabulary. I met them in a club called Rat Race where MCs rhyme over live music…I DJ’d there.”
After the success of their first album, Jurassic 5 unleashed ‘Quality Control’ onto the public which followed the blueprint and triumphant footsteps of its predecessor. They had now gained a huge global fan-base obsessed with the crew’s catchy rhymes, beats, scratches and samples. 2002’s ‘Power in Numbers’ did not sell as much as the popular second album, but still received positive reviews. It’s hard to believe it has been four years since they last released an album; maybe Nu-Mark’s been having to much fun on the stages of European festivals playing with Fisher Price style samplers?
As a group, J5 have “steady influences” which Num Mark points out range from James Brown and Curtis Mayfield to Run DMC. One thing they do not like however, is the new generation of hip hop superstars who sing about getting rich or die trying, shooting people and repeatedly commenting on their ‘excessive’ lifestyles. Nu-Mark explains that what influences him as a producer and DJ are “crazy rare stuff…texturised music from like the 1960s…the old 45’s with that distinctive grittiness.” Nu-Mark tries to experiment with different records and techniques; any 2004 Leeds or Reading festival goer will remember Nu-Mark’s use of a turntable strapped round his neck like a guitar…now that’s what we at Gigwise call experimental. We ask Nu-Mark whether we can expect more of the same thing in 2006 but Nu-Mark gives nothing away saying he has “something up the sleeve.” Mmm, interesting.
It is the new album however, ‘Feedback’, that Gigwise and Nu-Mark want to talk about, “it’s about letting go and being resilient…we tried to prove that J5 was a group that could stand on its own feet…the motto of the record was try everything.” The new album includes collaborations with other artists for the first time - a sign of J5’s musical self-confidence and maturity.
One of the standout collaborators on the album is stadium rocker Dave Matthews, who features on the chorus for ‘Work It Out’. “We were touring together and got along…he’s a super cool guy…he was very generous with his time and had a fan-base who were diggin’ J5…it was a natural collaboration.” Also featuring are Mos Def on a tune called ‘Where We At’; a collaboration which made the hip hoppers in the Gigwise Ghetto dribble with excitement. Further big names lined themselves up to assist Nu-Mark on the production side of things, such as Scott Storch (Eminem), Salaam Remi (Nas, Fugees) and Exile.
We proceed to ask the question on every J5 fans lips, are J5 still keeping it old skool? “it’s a mix…the singles are going to be more nu-skool…the album is all over the place really…it covers a wide spectrum.” ‘Feedback’ is a natural musical progression from the previous three albums which we would expect from a band making music since the mid 1990s. Nu-Mark explains how it’s different, “We were constrained before with our music, but not now…the label have been really good…letting us do what we want with the album…we had one hundred per cent creative control…but we wanted Interscope to work with us to make the record better…lots of people were upset in 2000 when we went to a major label, but when Quality Control came out no-one was upset…we’ve learnt how to work with the label.” They certainly seem wiser, “we recognize all the myths now…we are older in the business…we know what we want out of the business.”
How then, has this shrewdness effected Nu-Mark’s producing? “Well…because we had no expectations from the outside…I thought ‘ok, I did X,Y and Z on the last record, how can I outdo that?’…I knew I wanted to collaborate…It was time…I wanted to be the Nu-Mark I knew I could be…working behind the drum machine, DJ-ing…staying in the studio…I did the backbone and the majority of the production.”
So, ‘Feedback’ represents “more of a growth out of J5…the collaborations create a whole new world.” It’s hits the shelves on these shores on July 24 and expect our mouths to water even more with the anticipation of seeing J5 live as they begin to tour Britain in September. “We play two gigs in Brixton I know that…I am planning a new on-stage surprise that incorporates the whole group.” We can’t wait already.
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