In need of a hip-hop fix? Look no farther than the Higher Ground music and comedy venue in South Burlington, Vt. Jurassic 5 and X-Clan will bring their summer tour to Higher Ground Tuesday night for the second of their two New England shows before wrapping up the tour next month.
Los Angeles-based Jurassic 5, best known for their 2000 album "Quality Control" and its successful follow-up, "Power in Numbers," has been making music since 1993. "Feedback," the group's fourth full-length album and third major label release hit stores in July to rave reviews. Jurassic 5's MCs still "play off each other with a spontaneity worthy of a classical freestyle competition," The New York Daily News proclaimed. Despite the exit of DJ Cut Chemist, who recently left the group to pursue a solo career, Jurassic 5's first album in four years once again showcases the infectious, nostalgic funk sound that first brought them success.
"It's really introverted in a lot of ways, we talk about issues that have affected us personally as well as we go back to that feel-good aspect of who we are, as well as we try to experiment a little too," Jurassic 5's Chali 2na said of the new album. "In the same fashion that Jurassic has always done, a little bit of new stuff, a little bit of out-there stuff, we just kind of grew in that fashion."
The group has become famous for their "back-to-basics" approach to hip-hop. They have been likened to a hip-hop barbershop quartet due to the harmonization in many of their songs, their tag-team delivery and positive lyrics. In both style and spirit they are similar to old-school hip-hop acts like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and the Jungle Brothers.
Jurassic 5 got their first big break in 1995 with the single "Unified Rebelution," which soon shot to anthem status. The group released their debut LP album, "Jurassic 5," in 1998, and their unique sound got them noticed and signed by major label Interscope Records the following year. Jurassic 5 quickly secured a prominent position in the alternative hip-hop movement, alongside artists such as Black Star, Kool Keith and Company Flow.
Today, Jurassic 5 remains committed to their focus on hip-hop as a vehicle for demanding social justice. They also aren't afraid to criticize their rap industry counterparts for doing away with the social agenda and creativity that marked the genre in its earliest stages of development. This group doesn't make gangsta rap, and they're proud of it.
Jurassic 5 has notably reached beyond hip-hop circles over the years, largely through touring as part of traditionally rock-oriented festivals like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Reading and Warped Tour. Members of Jurassic 5 have also collaborated in the studio with Linkin Park, Incubus and Perry Farrell. "Work It Out," the new hit single from "Feedback," features Dave Matthews Band and has been generating critical praise since its release.
Jurassic 5's fan base spans the United States and the world, and the group is well known for the innovative, versatile energy they bring to the stage. They are joined on tour this summer by X-Clan, a three-man group originally from Brooklyn, N.Y. X-Clan first formed in 1989, and like Jurassic 5, they entered mainstream hip-hop determined to combat the negativity and banality they heard in most rap at the time. Though their militant activism aroused some controversy in the music industry, X-Clan released two highly successful albums, "To the East, Blackwards" and "Xodus," before temporarily disbanding in the mid-1990s. Brother J, the group's leader, reformed X-Clan several years later while still working on other projects, and the group will release a new album, "Return From Mecca," in October. The band has stated that the album "continues the tradition of displaying ancestral wisdom, culture, and signature lyrical style that appeals to all generations of hip-hop."
To X-Clan, the opportunity to support Jurassic 5 on a summer tour seemed like a match made in heaven. "If you study hip-hop you wonder who carries the torch of the legendary hip-hop crews," Brother J said. "When you see the J-5 show the realization is clear. It is an honor to travel with a group that has maintained quality with consistency from the underground to major label status."
Jurassic 5 and X-Clan come to South Burlington fresh from a string of tour dates in the South. After one more East Coast show in New York, the tour will swing through the Midwest before ending in Las Vegas next month.
So head to Higher Ground Tuesday evening for a double dose of retro hip-hop. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $32.
