Jurassic 5

One of the most popular and artistically engaging groups in the hip-hop underground, Jurassic 5 brought the conscious-rap style of the Native Tongues movement and a cratediggers ear for samples and production to L.A.'s overwhelmingly gangstafied rap scene. With production from the group's own Cut Chemist, J5's 1997 self-titled debut EP is considered an underground classic. The group continued its reverence for the old-school on subsequent releases while remaining decidedly contemporary.

• hip hop/rap