'My favorite cut is 'Where We At,' because it's literally about where we are at as a band at this stage in the world of hip-hop," says Jurassic 5's DJ Nu-Mark on the phone from Los Angeles while playing miniature golf with his son.
As a track on the California quintet's fourth album, 2006's "Feedback" -- which the band will promote with four Japan dates starting next week -- "Where We At" attacks the music industry's quest to make all rappers into wannabe thugs and pimps. MC Zaakir (Soup) sums up the genre's commercially successful artists when he opines, "Let's talk about the guns you bust, the crack you cut or all the cars that you bought wholesale. . . . I'm into keeping real. Let's talk about the ass you feel -- now that's the way to get mass appeal."
J5's old-school-flavored "hip-hop with a conscience" is the polar opposite of the money, drugs and violence-themed stuff favored by the likes of 50 Cent. This, though, has made it difficult for them to garner radio and video play, despite critical praise since forming in the mid-1990s.