Jurassic 5

Jurassic 5 is a five-piece hip hop crew that was formed in 1993 at the Los Angeles, California, venue Good Life. Rappers Chali 2na, Akil, Zaakir aka Soup, Mark 7even, and turntable maestros DJ Nu-Mark and DJ Cut Chemist came together from two separate crews, the Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee. Jurassic 5 was six-strong until Cut Chemist left.

The group debuted for TVT Records in 1995 with a single "Unified Rebelution". Their acclaimed position in the 1990s alternative hip hop movement, alongside artists including Company Flow, Black Star and Kool Keith, was confirmed when the Jurassic 5 EP was released in December 1997.

The EP was later repackaged with additional tracks and released in December 1998 as the band's full-length debut album, entitled Jurassic 5 LP.

The tracks harked back to the old school attitude of New York's Native Tongues Posse, the seminal late 1980s coalition of artists who reaffirmed rap's social agenda, which included De La Soul, the Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest. This was evident on the song "Concrete Schoolyard" ("Let's take it back to the concrete streets/Original bea...