A near-capacity crowd welcomed a native son back to Chicago’s historic Riviera Theatre Saturday night.

Clad in a Chicago Bears’ No. 54 Brian Urlacher jersey, Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na graciously accepted the cheers of the rap sextet’s legion of loyal fans.

“I was born and raised here,” the group’s self-proclaimed “verbal Herman Munster” explained. “I’ll always call Chicago home.”

Touring to support their newest release, “Power in Numbers,” Jurassic 5 members Chali 2na, Akil, Marc 7 and Zaakir took the stage after a stellar intro by DJs Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark. The intro led into the upbeat “After School Special,” and the mood of the evening was set.

The next song, “I Am Somebody,” had the mostly white, suburban crowd turned into virtual participants at a black power rally, creating a truly ironic moment.

Located in uptown Chicago, the Riviera is in dire need of renovation, and nearly 2,000 fans crammed onto the ancient theatre’s humid, smoky main floor and into the balcony.

The historic building seemed appropriate, however, for J-5’s retro anthem, “The Influence.” Zaakir’s lyrical skills were highlighted during this song — his delivery of the lines, ” ‘Cause I’m nice, smooth, hard as a bone/ Since I pick up the microphone I’m hotter than brimstone/ The razor-sharp crossbow accurate/ We drop the multiverbal milligram supplement” was flawless.

While Jurassic 5’s combined lyrical talents are amazing, the turntable talents of Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist are an integral part of the group’s sound. During “Acetate Prophets,” Chali 2na ordered all lights in the theater off while spotlights focused on the two men at the rear of the stage. Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark proved their mastery well. Cut Chemist displayed his knowledge mixing of 1930s jazz tunes while Nu-Mark experimented with a pair of Fisher-Price beat samplers.

The show’s encore allowed the Jurassic 5 rappers to show their skills as lyrical speed demons. Once again, Chali 2na was a crowd favorite as the group ran through the high-speed tracks “Improvise” and the appropriately titled “A Day At The Races.”

Openers The Beatnuts gave a 20-minute performance, predictably ending with the break-out hit, “No Escapin’ This.” Rapper Ju-Ju donned a fur-trimmed parka during the first half of the set, but the duo’s rhymes weren’t as warmly received by the crowd.

Jurassic 5’s performance Saturday night displayed an ability to continue to perform and deliver as positive rap pioneers, showing there truly is “Power In Numbers.”