And so goes a sample Cut Chemist injects into the title track "Quality Control". All too true when we're talking about Jurassic 5, an underground hip-hop group that turned heads with their self-titled debut EP release. "Quality Control" is their anticipated follow-up LP. It satisfies and delights even the most critical hip-hop fan with funky, playful beats and smart, creative rhymes. They set themselves apart from other rap groups of today with catchy group choruses and constant mic swapping, not to mention an old-school style and beats that sometimes verge on jazz. Jurassic 5, strange as it may seem, consists of six members, four MCs and two DJs. A typical Jurassic 5 song has each member do about two or three short verses. The frequent change of voices (which have quite a wide range among the four) backed with the mixing of either one or both the DJs makes the songs great to listen to. Certainly, the typical Jurassic 5 song is anything but typical and far from boring.
After an intro, the album breaks out strong with two excellent songs: "The Influence" and "Great Expectations". Both songs are catchy like a fisherman having a good day (did I mention that I also write hip-hop songs?). To catch a glimpse of the talent of Jurassic 5, check out Mark 7's verse on the title track:

We keep it beaming like a beacon, if it's clearance that you're seeking
Whether black or Puerto Rican, people back us when we're speaking
We got the kind of rhymes that get you ready for the weekend
(To the mass amount of legions that came for party pleasing)
Our temperature is freezing all kind of different regions
The rhythm is the reason you're checking for what we've done
Please son, our thesis, will rip your crew in pieces
Your rhymes ain't right, homeboy, you ain't in season

"Contact" is a well placed respite (just in case you can't handle that many tight flows in such a short time period) that finds Cut Chemist (the other DJ is DJ Nu-Mark) showcasing his skills. The DJs save the best for last, and you know it's going to be really good because "Contact" is great. The next track "Lausd" might get lost in the midst of the other songs with big beats but it's a good song with raps about the City of Angels and, if you listen carefully, references to the four elements of hip-hop (hardcore hip-hop fans will know what I'm talking about). "W.O.E. Is Me (World of Entertainment)" is an incredible song. I heard it's video managed to make it on MTV, BET, or one of those music channels, but I wouldn't know because I don't watch that stuff. "Monkey Bars" is a fun song that has these great parts where all sorts of different instruments go off. Chali 2Na forcefully brings in the next song "Jurass Finish First" with this lyrical gem:

Yo, because of cash in the purse, guns blast in the hearse
A vast universe when the last is the first
The past been a curse, I need some asprin to nurse
It's your casket in earth, or my a$$ when it hurts
A passionate burst of some last-minute work
First the human bodies are living last in this Earth
Puffing grass when it works, a bastard at birth
But at last planet Earth, 5 Jurass finish first
(Stashed in this verse) Burning like gas on a torch
(Graspin' a thought) Some don't see past their front porch
(Masked in a smirk) No doubt my class been alert
Verbal splash for your thirst, 5 Jurass finish first

I like how a double bass makes its way into the middle of the song...fabulous. J5 gets serious after that, addressing the topic of human relationships, on the song "Contribution". It seems that they are probing the audience when they ask in the chorus, "What's your contribution to life?" The next three tracks are also excellent. There's a great track called "Twelve". I don't know what that has to do with the song, but I cleverly noticed that it was the twelfth track of the album and that it had nine verses and a chorus done three times (which adds up to twelve). "The Game" is a wonderful track about basketball, but J5 has also managed to make basketball an extended metaphor for MCing! "Improvise" comes next and the album finishes off with a track called "Swing Set". I couldn't believe I didn't see it coming from the title of that track, but it turns out to be Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark cutting, scratching, and mixing swing music! How cool is that? And a pun for the title! A fine way to end a fine album. I wholeheartedly recommend this album. Oh and the CD case is very cool.

In case there was any confusion, Jurassic 5 is
Zaakir
Mark 7
Chali 2Na
Akil
and the two DJs Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends