On Easter Saturday, Brisbane had a rainy and yet extremely muggy night but it didn’t matter. I had earlier in the week been offered a media pass to see one of my favourite hip hop groups from the 90s. I couldn’t help but jump at the chance to fly solo to “What’s Golden” with the home boys from Jurassic 5.
Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group that formed in 1993 from members of two previous groups, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee. Although they are called Jurassic 5 the group consists of 6 members with well-known tunes such as What’s Golden, The Influence and Thin Line.
With a stomach full of beef burrito I wandered in the rain to the Tivoli passing multiple WuTang shirts and puffs of cigarette smoke. With a photo pass around my wrist and a tour shirt wrapped around my waist I pushed through the crowd of people from all ages and genders to the barrier awaiting all my favourite songs to be played.
Usually the first thing I think of when attending a show is, are they going to play the songs that I know? Are they going to play the songs I like or will I be forced to pretend I love their worst songs, while I take pictures of their face and pretend I’m enjoying myself? This was not the case at J5 because their repertoire is not only brilliant but I could almost guarantee that I would love 95% of what was going to be played.
One thing I especially want to comment on was the group’s stage presence, attitude and overall crowd vibe. There was no light show or crazy smoke machines making you feel like you were at a Yr 7 disco, there was just 6 guys, 4 mics, 2 DJ stands, 1 huge record player and some killer head bobbing beats. They sung to people’s videos, jumped down into the pit, asked for crowd feedback and best of all they looked like they were having the time of their lives. This made me want to break down some moves even though standing alone and being the only person without a snap-back.
I can honestly say that Jurassic 5 is one of the best acts I have seen live and I have seen a lot. As an emcee myself I felt truly inspired that even after all these years and no matter how many times they had played the same song they were still having a blast doing what they love. If there was ever a reason to commemorate musicianship then J5 would certainly have my top vote!
