OM DENNE EPISODE
I thought I'd re-publish this one for any of the heads who missed it first time round.
He doesn't really need an introduction round here — one half of the production team behind Jurassic 5, and honestly one of the best DJs I've ever seen live. I got Nu-Mark on to talk about his new book Amunu, which is part Persian cookbook, part memoir, part travel guide, and really a celebration of togetherness — family, food and music all woven together. What I love is how much ground we covered getting there.
He told me about the mum who raised him with total freedom (and who, 24 years ago, told him to start making Middle Eastern beats — advice he's only just taken), about growing up half-Iranian in the States during the hostage crisis, and about buying 20,000 records for $500 as a teenager, a haul that ended up powering 85–90% of those early J5 productions. We got deep into the group: how it became Jurassic 5 when there were six of them, why he refused the single deal that everyone else signed, the fact that the UK recognised them before the US would, and the whole first EP being made on an eight-track. He's wonderfully honest about confidence too — something he says he's still working on — and about losing his father, and how it was putting his dad's old records on that finally let him cry. We finish on Lesson 6, two record collections meant to meet, and the kebabs-on-site book launch in LA. A proper one, this.
In this episode:
- His mum, Nowruz, and the Middle Eastern beats advice he ignored for 24 years
- Growing up half-Iranian during the Iran hostage crisis
- The alphabetised 35,000-record collection (and the $500 haul of 20,000 records that built J5)
- Making peace with a tough upbringing, and music as therapy
- Losing his father, and the records that brought it out
- Drumming, Brazilian rhythm, and house parties that ended on slow jams
- Bum Rush Productions, $2 on the door and the 40 ounce posse
- Why it's Jurassic 5 when there were six of them
- Turning down the Blunt single deal — and signing Kanye at Correct Records
- The chemistry with Cut Chemist, and the art-first philosophy
- Breaking in the UK before the US, and touring like a rock band
- Retaining the publishing, the long life of "What's Golden", and a surprise Pandora hit
- The whole first EP made on an eight-track
- The Interscope era alongside Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent, and the Scott Storch sessions
- Going solo with the toy set, and building his own ecosystem
- How Amunu came together — and the LA launch
