AR: Quality Control

Jurassic 5 - Quality Control (2000)

At some point in roughly 2003 or so (and I may have mentioned this before), I decided it was important that I have half a clue about good hip-hop beyond, say, LL Cool J and Young MC. So I asked the most knowledgeable crew I knew, the three-to-four years younger than I (and therefore infinitely hipper) Tuftsmen. They recommended a lot of classics - Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, Wu-Tang, Public Enemy, Black Star, A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Roots, etc., but one they came out screamingly excited about was this freshman (actually sophomore if you count their initial EP) effort from Jurassic 5. It's not surprising at all that this album caught fire with the New England college crowd - it's immediate, catchy, highly melodic, and doesn't remotely try to hide its positive vibes. I.e. it stood out quite a bit from the violent/dark/negative mainstream rap from the previous few years (Snoop, Dre, Eminem, etc.) as an alternative option, exactly the thing that an alternative "college music"-seeking crowd would sink its collective teeth into with ease. That's a good thing and a bad thing, though - as relatively "fresh" and standout as this is (even though in style its largely a homage to throwback, old-school party-style hip-hop), it also has a sheen that makes it sound a little simplistic, a little too eager to please exactly that crowd. I am 99% sure that is unfair, in that this is undoubted high quality, thoroughly worked art. But in their utterly prototypical approach and sound - bright, underground , pseudo-cerebral team rap - they occasionally toe the line of cheese.

I suppose I mean to say that while they are undoubtedly good, they stick to an effective formula that nonetheless has always rendered them somewhat less exciting than other slightly more ragged acts in the same genre. Their sound is just a little too "round" for an underground band, if that makes sense. The "formula" is a prominent, very catchy looped sample topped by some snappy drumming and turntable work, a full band (six members, not five, incidentally) chorus shouted in unison, and rotating solos by each of the members. It's incredibly smooth and professional, and the choruses in particular are instant earworms. It gives the impression of jazz-rap with the consistently rumbling bass lines, the full band melodic announcements of melodic themes, and solo turns by the individual members (and now that i write that, it sounds exactly like jazz). But something about it comes across as jazz-by-numbers - too much structure, too much pre-planned vocal trills and excessively "now we sing the hook" sections. As accomplished as the writing and structure are, there's cognitive dissonance induced by music that is striving to sound energetic and spontaneous but is obviously over-planned to the last detail.

So now that I've ripped them like a jerk for two paragraphs, I should back off and point out that it's very good, very booty-shaking canned-planned rap. Expert and professional, and the talent of the individual members is beyond obvious. Just repetitive in structure is all, but if you can get lost in the party of each song, there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Highlights abound; the first three tracks on the album are stellar. "The Influence" rolls over an a capella voiced bassline, "Great Expectations" works the formula perfectly over a sick sax and organ riff, and "Quality Control" lays down a slowed down bass riff chant that would stand out in any hip-hop set. The party atmosphere of the latter in particular is superb; it's the easy highlight of the album. The extend drum break sample-fest in "Monkey bars" is great. And the rest is, as I've tried to indicate, solid, just highly samey.

The 11th track "The Game" may be the key to realizing what is simultaneously great and terrible about this album. It's a rap about basketball over an energetic thumping guitar riff and piano splash that plows ahead unapologetically. It flows well, everything in its right place, and it's got the appropriate amount of trash-talking attitude. But it's a literal rap about basketball! It's not a passing line about "I wear 45 like Jordan," it's a compelte rap about driving the lane and shooting threes and I'm sweet like the Dream and blah blah blah. It's absurd, cheesy, and no matter how expertly pulled off and catchy it is, crushingly unsubtle and lacking the mystique appropriate to an underground band. They may as well have written a song entitled "We Are Quite Good at Speaking Poetry In Rhythm Over Sampled Beats."

That's it. I feel liked I've probably over-explained this; it's a catchy, solid album that wears a little thin. As I sit here, one of the later tracks is insisting that they'll "show [me] how to improvise." But it's a clearly composed full-band chorus. I do not think that word means what they think it means.

Status: Recommended (solid)
Nyet's Fave: "Quality Control"