In 2007, hearts across the globe broke as one of America’s biggest alternative hip hop groups split up citing musical differences.
This year, hip hop hearts collectively started to beat again at a rapid pace when Jurassic 5 announced that they were reforming for a 20 year anniversary tour. The last leg of their Australian stint saw the group landing in Adelaide, the city known as the hip hop capital of Australia.
The line-up was massive for a Sunday night gig at a mid-sized venue, but this exemplified how much hip hop heads recognised the specialness of the occasion.
Supported by SA locals Full Tote Odds and New York DJ Total Eclipse, the show had all the right hip hop vibes going from the get-go. A group who has played the support role on many occasions but arguably deserve a lot more, Full Tote Odds know how to set the barometer high for a show. They had trumpets up on stage, guest artists, and an intrigued crowd all working in their favour.
Less local man DJ Total Eclipse brought his own renditions of hip hop classics to the table. It’s not very often that a crowd will sing along so enthusiastically to a DJ set, but most people knew the words and by the looks of things, nearly everyone loved the beats. It was the perfect tone setter and had every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the mood for the boom bap sounds of the headline act for the night.
From the moment Jurassic 5 jumped on the stage, it was evident that the crowd was witnessing the hip hop genre in its purest form. The groovy old-school beats combined with the lyrical idiosyncrasies of each of the four emcees had everyone in awe. Despite their differences in style, when the whole group came together to sing/rap the choruses in perfect timing, it was a thing of beauty. It would also be remiss not to praise or recognise the execution of the verses between each member; the interchanging of lyrics and backing vocals were very intricate and performed flawlessly.
After stringing together eight tracks without as much as a breath between them, one of the most outrageous DJ interludes ensued. DJ Nu-Marc and Cut Chemist combined with the use of multiple eccentric instruments. Cut Chemist rocked a turntable guitar whilst Nu-Marc wore a vest of differently-sized records, which was used as a ‘Maschine’ touch pad. If that wasn’t cool enough, the members proceeded to mix quick beats on a huge novelty turntable in the middle of the stage.
The second half of the show was, much to the desire of the crowd, drawn out for as long as possible. Chali 2na surprised everyone when he performed his hit solo track ‘Comin Thru’ directly after the interlude. An acapella rendition of ‘Without A Doubt’ gave the show a twist, and activist tune ‘Freedom’ had plenty of peace signs, fists of power, and harmonised “booooos” at the name dropping of our current Prime Minister.
In between all of this, the crew members even found the time to single out one of their most diehard fans, who had tweeted them for 80 consecutive days counting down to the show. They got him up on stage, showed him some love, and sent him packing with a whole heap of signed paraphernalia as well as a fucking fantastic story for the grandkids.
The encore lasted for an additional six tracks, taking the total to 28 songs during the two hour set – a number that’s nearly unheard of in hip hop. This put to bed many discussions held by punters in the line earlier that night about what songs would be played and which ones would miss out – because they played them all!
The set closer and crowd fave ‘What’s Golden’ had the crowd jumping like it was the last time they would ever hear it live. For the fans who have supported J5 for the last 20 years, this was most definitely a gig to remember the group by.
Setlist
Back 4 U
I Am
Jayou
School Desk Scratch
The Influence
Break
Monkey Bars
Improvise
Quality Control
Concrete Schoolyard
If You Only Knew
Kigh Fidelity
Comin’ Thru
Future Sound
Hey
Baby Please
Gotta Understand
Freedom
Thin Line
Without A Doubt (Acapella)
Countdown (Skit)
In The House
-Encore-
King Tee
Red Hot
Jurass Finish First
Day At Races
What’s Golden
Sista Sinna Outro
