Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, Beat Junkies, w/ MC Supernatural | TONIGHT @ Marathon Music Works

We excitedly told you about this amazing night of hip-hop when it was announced, and now the night is here.  Legendary hip-hop group Jurassic 5 are coming to Nashville’s Marathon Music Works tonight along with Dilated Peoples, Beat Junkies and MC Supernatural.

The Word Of Mouth Reunion Show gets started around 8 p.m., and tickets are still available for $35 here or $40 at the door.  Read on for a bit more about the acts.

JURASSIC 5

Quickly, what comes to mind when you hear the names Charles Stewart, Dante Givens, Courtenay Henderson, Marc Stuart, Mark Potsic, and Lucas McFadden?  Not much, huh?  How about when you hear the names Chali 2na, Akil, Zaakir, Marc 7, DJ Nu-Mark, and Cut Chemist?  If you are like me, then that means hip-hop collective Jurassic 5 are in the house.  The band first hit the scene with their self-titled debut in 1998, and burst into the national spotlight when their 2000 sophomore followup, Quality Control, peaked at number 43 in the Billboard 200.  Already riding high, the band found even more commercial success on their 2002 release Power In Numbers, and quickly fizzled out after the release of their fourth and final album Feedback in 2006.  Their 2007 breakup was supposedly due to musical differences, and left a gaping hole in the alternative hip hop movement of the early 2000s.  As a long-time fan, we jumped when we heard these guys were getting back together this year, and were equally excited to see that they picked up right where they left off with the release of the new music video ” The Way We Do It.”  Have a listen to the title track from their sophomore debut below, and get excited.

DILATED PEOPLES

If hip-hop collectives did split 7-inches, Dilated Peoples would be on the B-side of every Jurassic 5 single.  Finding moderate success in the same era as Jurassic 5 and both living in the Los Angeles area, they use a similar formula.  Lots of cool samples with some clever DJ scratching and a multitude of MCs bringing different voices to the tracks.  There couldn’t be a better opener for J5, and you’ll be blown away by the chilled out beats and smooth rhymes of Dilated Peoples.

BEAT JUNKIES

What is the unique common denominator with the two headlining acts, it would probably have to be incredible DJ. If you are going to try to nail down top DJs in the world, then you would have to include Beat Junkies in that conversation. Anyone who says DJs aren’t musicians… witness below.

MC SUPERNATURAL

Have you ever seen those freestyle hip-hop battles in movies. The ones that get the “OOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWS” from the crowd when one dude disses another? Let’s just put it this way, MC Supernatural would embarrass everyone of them. From our experience though, Supernatural is more playful than degrading in his freestyle display. We caught him opening for Mos Def at a charity event in San Francisco in 2010, and he collected items from the crowd to create the context of his rhymes. Check out what I’m talking about below.

Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, Beat Junkies and MC Supernatural will perform tonight (July 29th) at Marathon Music Works. The show is 18+, begins at 8pm, and tickets are available for $35 or $40 at the door.