I'm not going to lie to you but I don't really know a great deal about J5, merely the hype. I know they're a hip hop institution from LA who epitomise an old school, tag team trading off rhymes and harmonising on choruses. Mainstream music seems somewhat devoid of J5's style of music with indie rock and roll reigning supreme. But with J5 and Public Enemy in the North West, hip hop is far from dead. The first thing that surprises me at the venue is the crowd. I knew it would be packed to the rafters but there was a huge indie contingent in the place, buzzing with excitement. The boys enter one by one and proceed to put on one hell of a show.  | | Jurassic 5 (pic: Shirlaine Forrest) |
They announce that they "know when we come to Manchester, it’s gonna be a party!" and they're not wrong. The show had everything including a disco ball and a quick lesson in riding a motorbike. They slow it down for the ladies and show us all how to 'bounce'. We are treated to a real lesson in entertainment with J5 teaching me more than a thing or two about the origin of old school and its ability to turn crowds into mindless puppets. Tunes like Concrete Schoolyard were amazing and met with rapturous applause. They couldn't be more right when they announce "Let's take you back to the concrete streets, original beats with real live mc's". A brilliant performance and for one night at least, indie rock and roll is well and truly extinct! | 
