Power In Numbers

B-Boy beats, old school samples that are fresh, not tired out, unparalled DJ'ing, and superior MC'ing. If I could take all these elements that are pre-requisites for a top-notch hip-hop act, I'd have Jurassic 5. But only Jurassic 5 has the talent to assemble it all the way it should be. Power In Numbers contains head nod after head nod and hooks that dare you not to sing along.

"Freedom" opens things up by encouraging knowledge of what freedom is and what it means for us. It also mentions slavery and oppression's new face in today's world. "If You Only Knew" details J5's mission in hip-hop, stating they are "trying to take rap back to it's primitive state." A simple kick and snare overlaced with a flute sample brings their lyrics to the forefront. "Break" is the definition of old school flow, perfect execution by the MC's which is matched by the skills of J5's two DJ's.

"What's Golden" is the first single from Power In Numbers, and with good reason. It alone sums up everything J5 and their music represents. Nelly Furtado makes an appearance in "Thin Line" which addresses the ever complicated friends that want more boundaries. "One Of Them" tackles hip-pop's fake, played up artists and their creators and allows J5 to vent on them. Power In Numbers closes with the DJ's-only "Acetate Prophets."

Hip-pop fans that like the Nelly's, the Ja Rule's, etc, can keep 'em...Power In Numbers is for the rest of us. It's how Hip-Hop is done. 19-Jan-2003 11:00 PM