Back in 2007 after the release of their fourth album, Feedback Jurassic 5 announced that they would no longer be recording or performing together for the foreseeable future. Then after a triumphant return at last year’s Coachella, the group’s six original members – Akil, Zaakir, Marc 7, DJ Nu-Mark, Chali 2na, and Cut Chemist are have been crossing the country on this very special jaunt. The group is in top form, and definitely on top of their game. They have also released a new single, ““The Way We Do It.” Marc 7 took time out of his busy schedule to chat about the upcoming U.S. tour, video games, and more.

The group took quite a bit of time off, what has it felt like coming back together?

It’s been a lot of fun. I think the time off was good. It was good as far as everybody individually doing what they wanted to do. Musically and spending time with family. When we went on our run, I had just had a daughter and I had to watch her walking on the computer and things like that. So you miss those things, but I’m ready now. We’re ready now, we’re good.

You touched on having a daughter. Most of you have had kids in the past few years. How has becoming fathers impacted Jurassic 5’s music or musical creativity or drive in any way?

I’ve always rapped about what I’m passionate about, which keeps me honest, so that does play into it, speaking just for me.

How was Heavy D involved in J5’s new record since coming back together, “The Way We Do It?”

God bless the dead. Before he died he wanted to work with us and at the time we used the opportunity to sit down with him and hop in the studio. We made about four songs or so. We sat and we bonded and the connection of us working with him and vibing in the studio. So that’s one of the songs that came out of that session.

How do you guys collaborate with one another as a group to get from idea, to lyric, to beat to a full production of a song?

There’s no science to how we do it. Kind of the way you just said it, is how it happens. Sometimes it might be the beat that sparks it, someone might have a line, it might be the chorus; you know what I mean? It’s never anything forced, it just happens. I could speak of different songs like “What’s Golden” started with Nu-Mark like, “Yo I got this beat,” then he played the beat and Charli or somebody said something about, “man we should use that part from Public Enemy,” and we all thought that would be kind of dope and from that we put the hook around it. So that’s one of the ways of how a studio session or the creative process will go down.

So 2007, you guys parted ways. Did you all remain friends, but were just musically separated or was it a clean cut?

Some dudes were talking some dudes weren’t to be quite honest with you. It was that kind of split. It’s like families fight, brothers fight, they don’t want to talk with one another, don’t come to my room and I won’t come into yours. It wasn’t pretty.

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