Quality Control

1	How We Get Along 1:14
2	The Influence 3:56
3	Great Expectations 3:37
4	Quality Control (Intro) 0:31
5	Quality Control 4:48
6	Contact 1:15
7	Lausd 4:07
8	World of Entertainment (Woe Is Me) 3:57
9	Monkey Bars 4:06
10	Jurass Finish First 4:35
11	Contribution 3:45
12	Twelve 4:25
13	The Game 4:34
14	Improvise 3:28
15	Swing Set 5:18

Barnes & Noble

There may be groups in the West Coast's underground hip-hop scene with bigger attitudes (Dilated Peoples) and better skills (Blackalicious), but Jurassic 5 have an unabashed pop appeal that harks back to the tension and thug-free rhymes of such old-school party starters as the Sugarhill Gang and Kurtis Blow. And in that early hip-hop tradition, J5's debut album, QUALITY CONTROL, is 53 infectious minutes of funky call-and-response choruses, body-rock rhymes, and harmonized hooks. Backed by the chewy beats and superior turntablist skills of DJs Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist, J5 sling strings of clever, metaphorical rhymes, particularly on "Improvise," on which the group boast "Together we show you how to improvise, reminiscent of the 'Wild Style' '75...we take four MCs and make 'em sound like one," and on the L.A. homage "L.A.U.S.D," on which they lament the dreams deferred in the land of "earthquakes and high crime rates." With a mix of message-oriented tracks and straight-up party jams, the delightful J5 are lively enough to kickstart a funeral. Michael Endelman

All Music Guide

In June 2000, almost seven years after their formation, underground rap's most lauded crew finally hit with a full-length. Great expectations aside, Quality Control hits all the same highs as Jurassic 5's excellent EP of three years earlier, stretching out their résumé to nearly an hour with a few turntablist jaunts from resident beat-jugglers DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist. The formula is very similar to the EP, with the group usually going through a couple of lines of five-man harmonics before splitting off for tongue-twister solos from Zaakir, Chali 2na, Akil, and Marc 7even. As expected, there are plenty of nods to old-school rap, from "Lausd," with its brief tribute to hip-hop classic "The Bridge" by MC Shan, to "Monkey Bars," where the group claim inspiration (yet just a bit of distance) from their heroes: "Now you know us but it's not the Cold Crush, four MCs so it ain't the Furious/Not the Force M.D.'s or the three from Treacherous, it's a blast from the past from the moment we bust." Where Quality Control really laps previous Jurassic 5 material is not only the lyrical material, though, but the themes and focus of the message tracks "Lausd," "World of Entertainment (Woe Is Me)," and "Contribution." The four-man crew take on major media and the responsibilities of adulthood with a degree of authority, eloquence, and compassion never before heard in rap music. (Just check out the lyrics to any of the above three at an online archive like www.ohhla.com.) Though critics and uptight rap purists might fault them for not pushing the progression angle enough, Jurassic 5's rhymes are so devastating and the productions (by Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist) follow the raps so closely it certainly doesn't matter whether the group is old-school or not. ~ John Bushwww.ohhla.com.) Though critics and uptight rap purists might fault them for not pushing the progression angle enough, Jurassic 5's rhymes are so devastating and the productions (by Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist) follow the raps so closely it certainly doesn't matter whether the group is old-school or not. John Bush