Jurassic 5
Quality Control
Interscope

Lil' Kim
The Notorious K.I.M.
Atlantic

Any serious hip-hop fan or critic knows you're supposed to love Jurassic 5 and hate Lil' Kim. I mean, Jurassic 5 is back to the essence, man, the roots of hip hop, back in the day when it was fun and real. Likewise, Lil' Kim is a scag. She's part of Puffy's crew and isn't to be taken seriously. If you like her, it's only in an ironic way. It says here that these records are even. Both are above average, neither revolutionary.

For Jurassic 5, that might seem like a letdown. While 1997's amazing Concrete Schoolyard seemed a tad short at 35 minutes, Quality Control, at 55 minutes, feels about 20 minutes too long.

The album has about five great songs, "The Influence" being the best. It flows effortlessly and shows off the group's superb vocal talents, and as always, the unparalleled work of DJs Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark, who also produced most of the album.

"Swing Set," "Quality Control" and "Great Expectations" also stand out. These songs represent the free-flowing, positive, old-school sound that made the group the underground legend it is.

A few songs — particularly in the middle of the album — fall short and lag. "Lausd" sounds like a throwaway. And "World Of Entertainment (Woe is Me)," a song making fun of tired entertainment acts is, ironically, Jurassic 5 settling into automatic pilot. The production sounds tired and the rapping listless. There’s flow (J5 always has it), but it’s not their usual from-the-heart style.

Comprised of four MCs and two DJs, the guys in Jurassic 5 can make the old-school claim because they are. They've been together since the '80s and they let you know it pretty much every song.

That's fine, but after a while, it becomes a little self-serving, to the point where the group thinks it's necessary we hear answering machine messages left by Mom and Dad, inane studio banter and Sean Lennon yammering backstage.

Is Jurassic 5 egotistical? Possibly. They certainly think their way is the right way. Mostly, they probably just really enjoy what they do, which is reflected in the breezy, fun qualities that carry Quality Control, and make it a solid listen.

But Lil' Kim likes what she does, too. If listening to Quality Control can be likened to a pleasant Sunday afternoon on "A Different World," The Notorious K.I.M. throws you straight into a cell at "Oz."

But this isn't an album about the streets. This is an album by someone jerked from the streets and poured into Madonna's body. Madonna was risque, but Lil' Kim already has her pants down when you open the door.

"Custom Made (Give it To You)" samples a porn orgasm, and "Suck My D**k" is actually about cunnilingus, not fellatio; but don't be fooled, Lil' Kim is the one in power here. At least in the sense that (enter Cash Money artist here) is on his albums.

The gender-role reversal brings up an interesting debate. Lil’ Kim isn’t the first to do it, but few mainstream female rap acts have taken it to the extreme that Lil’ Kim does on this record. It’s a commendable effort and one that will surely draw some fire.

The music? Well, at 77 minutes "Notorious" is about twice as long as it needs to be, but the production by Puffy, Kim and (?!) The Notorious B.I.G. is excellent, especially the oddly shaped "Lil' Drummer Boy," which takes the listener through a narrative in which Lil’ Kim is arrested for murder. It’s silly, but the music is great, and evolves into a Tricky-esque rap by Cee-lo of Goodie Mob.

The slithering "Single Black Female" changes faces several times to and sports a solid appearance by Mario Winans.

Like any Puffy project, this album is filled with cameos ranging from the good — "How Many Licks?" featuring Sisqo — to the bad — "Right Now," featuring Carl Thomas.

You can bet you'll see Quality Control on plenty of "best of" lists at the end of the year, but then it was probably there before the album came out, maybe before Jurassic 5 even finished recording it. Chances are, the authors of those lists won't have Lil' Kim on their list. But to be fair, both albums belong somewhere in the 10-15 range.

— Aaron Tassano (aaronaroundthecorner@yahoo.com)