Positive thinking

Crowds are never the problem for Jurassic 5. Band members are like hip-hop missionaries, says rapper Chali 2na, as they deliver their socially aware blend of old and new schools to festivals across the globe, pushing the genre far beyond gangsta cliches.

It’s a movement that was already well underway by the time cassettes of J-5’s debut EP began appearing on critics’ lists in 1998, following a tradition of daring and thoughtful music by the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Pharcyde and the Roots.

Now, Jurassic 5 is set to headline a concert Saturday at the Wiltern (with Talib Kweli), one of several shows this weekend, by such acts as Mystic, Tre Hardson and Kim Hill, that suggest a growing audience for what is often labeled “positive rap.”

“It’s probably the same cats that have been listening to hip-hop for the longest,” 2na says of the group’s newer fans, many of them at least partly drawn to 2002’s “Power in Numbers” album. “They’re just looking for new stuff.”

The Wiltern show will be J-5’s biggest hometown gig as headliner, 2na says, and follows the mainstream rise of Common (now enjoying regular airplay on MTV) and continued acclaim for Mos Def, among others up from the underground.

It’s the continuation of a loose-knit movement that Hardson has been part of since his days as a founding member of the Pharcyde, which he left in 1999 for a solo career. His newest album, “Liberation,” explores sounds ranging from straight hip-hop to rich, modern soul.

“It’s not hip-hop -- but it’s music,” Hardson says. “That’s the point of what should be happening here, instead of labeling things. We get trapped. We should just be open to music.”

Hardson hadn’t planned on quitting Pharcyde, which also is on tour, but says the others objected to his solo career. Hardson imagined a Wu-Tang Clan scenario, with each member enjoying a serious solo career while remaining committed to the band. The others didn’t agree.

Hardson plans to mix old Pharcyde songs with material from the new album at his performance (with Mystic) on Friday at the Temple Bar. And rather than a turntable behind him, Hardson will appear with a seven-member band.

His commitment to using live players may follow the example of the Roots, but also reflects his interest in the legacies of Jimi Hendrix, Rick James and Sly Stone.

Even at gansta’s height in the ‘90s, such peace-loving acts as Arrested Development and Digable Planets found commercial success and Grammy awards. But aside from such notable exceptions as the Fugees and its members’ subsequent solo careers, those acts’ time on the charts was brief, suggesting that hip-hop without blood and sex had no staying power.

“We’ve been through the roughest of times when it comes to that,” 2na says. “The conception of our crew was around the same time when gangsta rap was really crackin’. It was a time when you really couldn’t get a deal unless you were doing gangsta stuff.”

J-5 tends to focus on music and messages both urban and insightful. It is hip-hop in its purest form, a Los Angeles sound born of a club called the Good Life and open-mike sessions at the now-defunct Hip Hop Shop in Hollywood, much as the Watts Writers Workshop inspired a generation of poets and artists, including the Watts Prophets, after the 1965 Watts riots.

2na still remembers hearing records by the Watts Prophets while growing up.

“My father used to listen to it loud,” says 2na, who also is a sometime member of Ozomatli and is about two songs into recording a solo album he hopes will explore a variety of sounds, some outside of hip-hop altogether.

Jurassic 5’s next single probably will be “Thin Line,” an examination of platonic relationships between the sexes, with guest Nelly Furtado. Also drawing attention is “One of Them,” a critique of rappers who adopt a gangsta persona only for business reasons.

Both 2na and Hardson say they respect much gangsta rap. Hardson says music from Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang Clan typically approach the hardest edge of hip-hop from experience.

Hardson remembers his first listen to NWA with excitement and fondness.

“I could totally relate to it because I was one of those little bad kids stealing car parts and driving through the streets really fast,” he says. “Now, I try to stay out of trouble.”

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Where and when

Who: Jurassic 5, Talib Kweli

Where: The Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Cost: $28.50

Info: (213) 380-5005

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Who: Mystic, Tre Hardson

Where: Temple Bar, 1026 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica

When: 9 p.m. Friday

Cost: $12

Info: (310) 393-6611

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Who: Kim Hill, Crown City Rockers

Where: Temple Bar

When: 9 p.m. Saturday

Cost: $10

Info: (310) 393-6611