Live Review: Jurassic 5, DJ 26th Letter

Two words represent everything about the night: ‘old’ and ‘school’.

DJ 26th Letter, aka Zehrish Naera, kicked things off with tunes that everyone could recognise: Arrested Development, House Of Pain, A Tribe Called Quest and any number of retro hits from the golden age of ‘90s hip hop were spun. It was old people singalong time.

The crowd swelled in the Enmore. Since Jurassic 5’s six-year hiatus ended, this is their second time in Australia and the infamy of their 2002 Big Day Out show is still a topic of conversation. The jumbo-sized turntable in the centre of the stage was unveiled and DJs Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist entered. As is the style of J5, one by one we were introduced to the legendary emcees, Akil, Zaakir, Marc 7 and of course, the man with the lowest rapping voice in the biz, Chali 2na. What followed was a lesson in their back catalogue. From After School Special to Monkey Bars to Concrete Schoolyard, we got the lot. Freedom, with all fists in the air was a huge highlight of the night.

The choreography and harmony from the four MCs was nothing short of a joy. Tight, smooth and forever charismatic, the group seemed to feed off each other and the audience, which, by halfway through the night, was dancing wildly. The two legendary DJs, both hugely successful in their own right, held down the beats to perfection. They even had the opportunity to come front and centre with unique solo ‘instruments’ and scratch the giant deck. Despite the obvious gimmick, the crowd happily went along with it.

Crowd participation was encouraged, including requests in the encore of rarely played tracks. A B-boy circle opened up as J5 wrapped up the evening with What’s Golden. Old-school, sure, but fun as hell.