KEY POINTS:
There will be one less person on stage when LA hip-hop crew Jurassic 5 play the St James tonight, but the name will finally make sense.
Yep, they're a five-piece. The group's producer Cut Chemist left before the release of their latest album, Feedback, to concentrate on his
solo career.
"It was a mutual understanding," says the group's prominent rapper, Charli 2na. "He just didn't want to sacrifice any creative energies when he was creating music for Jurassic while he was creating music for himself. We don't want him to slow us down and we don't want to slow him down."
Chemist's departure may have been amicable but it has left a scar. Critics have been quick to note the difference without him.
"I think the heaviest burden was on DJ Nu-Mark because he had to kind of pick up the slack," says 2na. "Cut Chemist has a certain sound that we are all aware of and real fond of. Y'know what I'm saying?
"He's also a very amazing vocal coach, a good guy in the studio when it comes to getting the best out of a person. Cut's a crazy dude, a unique fellow. He's a weirdo and I think that weirdness made us fresh too. He was a cool edition to the already cool chemistry."
Regardless, it can't have been easy following up their first two albums, particularly their outstanding debut, Quality Control, a capsule of their rollicking live gigs where they'd frequently incite a hands-in-the-air party atmosphere.
When they emerged from the LA hip-hop scene in the mid-90s, their optimistic themes, references to their forebears and laidback, good-time performances seemed a world away from the gangsta rap prevalent at the time.
Two years later, Chemist and fellow turntablist Nu-Mark continued to use old jazz and soul samples on the group's follow-up, Power in Numbers, over which rappers 2na, Akil, Zakir and Mark7even played tag-team.
Having made a name for themselves in the underground hip-hop scene, they broadened their horizons by playing at unconventional venues, such as big rock festivals Lollapalooza and the Warped Tour.
It's fair to say they've outlived the harmony-rich pioneers they are influenced by (think Treacherous Three and Cash Crew), perhaps because they continue to look at ways to broaden their appeal.
Feedback may not be as novel but the group's nostalgia trip includes forays into P-funk and electro. And on Work It Out they team with Dave Matthews, another popular artist on the university circuit. 2na says the collaboration wasn't motivated by money though.
"It was natural in the sense that we both shared fans from the get-go. We did tours and shows together. He would do things and come out and introduce us - just things he didn't have to do. Nu-Mark came up with the music and when we heard it we thought 'Wow, it would be cool to collaborate with Dave Matthews.' So we called him and he was cool with it."
Feedback, which features external producers Scott Storch, Salaam Remi and Exile, blends the old-school they have long emulated with something new. Although the track Radio calls to mind Crash Crew's classic On The Radio, 2na says it has "a very modern, uptempo beat to it that somebody like the Game would put out.
"We did that because it's like paying homage to that era as well as it's a slight double entendre. We could be saying something to those radio programmers in a subliminal way: why can't this be played on the radio? But as far as choosing music is concerned, we gravitate to what sounds good.
"It's not so much, 'Is that old-school or is that new-school? It's, 'Is that good?'
"This album to me is a little more introspective. We're talking more about personal issues - women, love, things like that. These are things we usually haven't tackled in the past."
Still, 2na's familiar themes of love over money continue to surface. The rapper says it's more about providing an alternative viewpoint than being patronising. They're not whingers, he says.
"I'm gonna put a billboard up. One side is this aspect that you see all the time; the other side is the aspect you don't see.
"The whole of the picture is one but you'll see both sides. You'll see what's there and then us trying to show another side."
