Filed under: Hip-Hop, Don't Call It a Comeback
It's been roughly three years since underground collective Jurassic 5 called it quits, but its gravel-voiced front man Chali 2na is keeping on strong. Formed in 1993, J5 served as a cornerstone of Los Angeles hip-hop, with its members Chali, Akil, Zaakir, Mark 7even, DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist dropping potent, organic collections of tracks that recalled the boom bap knock of '90s rap with a contemporary, next-level twist. But after a moderately successful run with Interscope Records and four studio albums under their belts, the guys decided to part ways, presumably due to creative differences.For Chali 2na, life after Jurassic 5 has proved to be more of a gift than a curse. The nimble emcee, who first cut his teeth as a rapper in the seven-person collective Unity Committee, just released his 'Fish Market 2' mixtape last month, the sequel to his breakout 2004 mixtape, 'Fish Market,' and the follow-up to his 2009 solo debut, 'Fish Outta Water.' And while his career has blossomed into a force of its own, its roots are based in the J5 days when he first started recording solo joints during his spare time.
"While I was not doing Jurassic 5 work, I was doing solo guest verses and such that I wanted to do," he told The BoomBox of his debut mixtape. "I gathered them all together on one CD so that they could grab it and check it out, and once they discover the collaborations, maybe go out there and seek and find it. But I wanted those to be the tracks that people were exposed to, and that's why 'Fish Market' came out. And then my album followed two years later, but I thought now I wanted to continue to put out as much music as possible."