Jurassic 5's Power in Numbers

For the record, there are six members of Jurassic 5. The West Coast rap collective has a pair of DJs and twice as many MCs?two turntables and four microphones, if you will.

If the name of this Southern California hiphop sextet is puzzling, the group's rhymes are not. Chali 2na, Zaakir, Akil and Marc 7 (who rap), and Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark (who provide the rhythm and beats), are as interesting an outfit as there is in urban music today. J5's new album is nowhere near flawless?Nelly Freakin' Furtado, of all people, makes a guest appearance?but it's one of those records you can't stop listening to.

And more people are listening this time around. The group's first record, 2000's Quality Control, peaked at number 43 on Billboard's pop chart. The new one debuted this month at number 15. Jurassic's fan base, once a lumpen mass of stoned-out college kids, Vibe staffers and acolytes of hiphop's Native Tongues movement (De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest), has grown exponentially. Maybe that's what they mean by Power in Numbers.

J5's sound is an infectious and affecting blend of old-school aphorisms, doo-wop wordplay and postmodern smarts. The record's 17 tracks are fueled by an inventive mix of beats and natural sounds (bells, thunder, cars, etc.). They draw their inspiration from trouble down the block ("Remember His Name"), male-female friendships ("Thin Line") and the joys of soul music ("If You Only Knew"). Like many politically aware hiphop troupes, they can be showoffy and annoyingly p.c.; there is, of course, the obligatory Mumia reference and lip service paid to all manner of social ills. But these flaws are forgiven, as they're easily outweighed by the album's many outstanding vocal turns.

An example is a track called "One of Them." A broadside against music video thugging ("TV MC's...pretend to be harsh fellows," raps Chali 2na, "but be yellow and softer than marshmallows"), the track also singles out a certain hiphopper with a "house in the Hamptons/Bank account large." J5's members have denied that they're upbraiding P Diddy for his conspicuous consumption, but he seems the likely (and deserving) target. It's the sort of track you're used to hearing from more inflammatory Interscope artists.

(Here, incidentally, is what will happen if you're planning to write about Jurassic 5 and you call Interscope for a copy of this record: 1. A young man who works in the label's publicity office will try to persuade you to include his name in any and all articles about the group. 2. This young man, after pledging to mail you a copy of the record, will mail you nothing. 3. Frustrated, you will call one of the young man's colleagues. This new person will promise that a member of Jurassic 5 will call you tomorrow at 12:30 p.m., mountain time?mountain time!?for an interview. 4. Will this member of Jurassic 5 call you at the appointed hour, or any other? No, he will not.)

For better or worse, the record is laden with what might be called "message music"?"What means the world to me is being free/Live and let live and just let it be," explains Akil on a track called "Freedom"?but there are also tracks that aim to be nothing more than head-bobbing pop songs. On "High Fidelity," Zaakir and Marc 7 trade verses about rhymes that are "so, so fresh" and beats "so right" before meeting for the bouncy chorus: "And together we/will forever be/high fidelity definitely/switching the melody..." Later, on the same track, Marc 7 tells listeners, "You better remember these incredible MCs."

Is J5 incredible? Probably not. Memorable? Definitely.

Jurassic 5 plays Weds., Oct. 30, at the Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 W. 34th St. (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.), 485-1534.