4 out of 5

Produced by: Cut Chemist, DJ Nu-Mark, Juju, Sa-Ra Creative Partners

Label: Interscope

While I certainly respect Jurassic’s Quality Control as a classic, my jaded ears also feel it’s rather staid, acting mostly as a showcase for its rappers and nostalgic beats.  Impressive, but after a few tracks, I get it.

Their followup, Power in Numbers, takes a lot of steps toward redressing this balance, first and foremost by actually having something – on occasion – to say, but also, by becoming better showmen, the group turns out tracks that feel fully developed and not just boasts.  Though it still leans heavily on hype tracks more than anything, the whole package just feels slicker and, overall, more satisfying, playing as a team effort instead of individuals taking turns in the spotlight.

The ‘message’ tracks are pretty clear from the tracknames and don’t necessarily touch on anything too deep, but this is a lyrically gifted crew, and it’s a pleasure hearing them spin rhymes about things besides Jurassic 5: Freedom, Remember His Name, I Am Somebody are all rich in rhythm and content.  Back on the boasts, QC fans won’t feel left out by the old school samples and whip smart battley stuff, but Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark take the concept to another level on tracks like 4 and 6 and 8, our DJs twisting their beats in verse-chorus-verse structures, and our blazing lyricists (assisted by Big Daddy Kane, Kool Keith and more) circling around one another but also coming together for some crowd moving chantable lyrics.  Cut also gets a great chance to shine on closer Acetate Prophets, again previewing for us the catchiness he would commit on his full length.

Jurassic 5’s peak was relatively short, and between this and Quality Control, it’s somewhat apparent why: the ideas ran rather thin.  But this disc is, to me, their best expression of their limited concept, with jaw dropping deliveries and non-stop catchy beats, with the added pleasure of enough topical variance to give some tracks some legit lyrical weight.