Following the success of their sell-out Australian tour last year, hip-hop heroes Jurassic 5 are returning down under.
The Frontier Touring Company & Hive Creative are thrilled to announce that come July 24, Jurassic 5 will be rocking venues throughout Australia and New Zealand. Venturing to our shores to headline the Splendour in the Grass Festival in Byron Bay, Jurassic 5 will also play a series of sideshows for their loyal fan-base down under.
The J5 team consists of four MCs – Akil, Chali 2na, Marc 7 and Zaakir (Soup) – flanked by two DJs – Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark – with each individual adding their own unique spice to the group. Jurassic 5�s onstage energy and presence, coupled with their stylish wordplay and funky backing beats makes their gigs not-to-be-missed events – party-like in nature, but full of musical ingenuity and craft.
NME describes Jurassic 5s "party-on-demand show' as "a crash course in all that is fun in hip-hop", whilst Rolling Stone claims that the group's "old-school/new-school sound is truly infectious, familiar yet unique, and quite simply: fresh."
The product of two separate hip-hop outfits – Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Community – J5 was meant to be. The groups met over ten years ago at The Good Life Café, where the L.A. Underground hip-hop movement came together regularly to perform. In 1993, Rebel of Rhythm and Unity Community worked in unison to produce a one-off single, but the resultant Unified Rebelution was such a success, that the two groups decided to stick together for good. The chemistry was undeniable and Jurassic 5 was born. And boy, are we thankful for that!
Since then, Jurassic 5 has released a self-titled EP and two albums Quality Control and Power In Numbers (out now through Universal Records), all of which have proved to be worldwide successes. Their music has also featured on several local compilations including Triple J's Hottest 100 Volume 10, where their then single What's Golden was placed at an impressive no.49.
Ever busy, the J5 crew are currently in the midst of producing their third album. As well as working together as Jurassic 5, the boys each have solo side-projects on the go, with DJ Nu-Mark recently releasing his first solo album Hands On.
And if all this isn't enough to convince you that the J5's shows will go off, then perhaps a list of the support acts will be. Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Auckland and Wellington audiences will all be warmed-up by Scribe – New Zealand's own hip-hop star.
At just 22 years of age, Scribe has already cemented his place in hip-hop's underground scene. His debut album The Crusader occupied the no.1 position on the New Zealand Album Chart the same week his single Stand Up/Not Many held the no.1 spot on the Singles Chart – a first in New Zealand musical history. Sales of the album were phenomenal, with 15 000 copies walking out of record stores across the country on its first day of release.
Melbourne audiences will be further blessed with an appearance by DJ Selekt – hip-hop and breaks specialist. Sydney audiences will prove luckier still. The support line-up for the Hordern Pavilion Show reads like a mini hip-hop fest!
Aside from Scribe, Sydney also scores sets with Money Mark, DJ Nu-Mark and James De La Cruz, of The Avalanches fame. Money Mark, who hails from the US, rose to public consciousness in the late 1980s as a keyboard player in the Beastie Boys. Since pursuing his own solo career, Money Mark has released three albums Mark's Keyboard Repair, Push the Button and Change is Coming. As Rolling Stone say, Money Mark's unique sound is "mellow hip-hop beats in a showering of retro/vintage keyboard riffs, obtuse jazz noodlings, abstract vocal clips, dubby textures and funky soul effects."
Jurassic 5's gigs are sure to rock from start to finish! But, make sure you snap up tickets fast – because with only one show in each major city, tickets are sure to sell-out in a flash.
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