The Jungle Brothers helped usher in a new phase in Rap music. Releasing “Straight out the Jungle” in 1988, the Jungle Brothers helped usher in the “Golden Era” of Hip-Hop in addition to being the initial members of the Native Tongue Family that we discussed in our last article highlighting the Black Sheep. The Golden Era refers to the high moment in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s where MC’s and DJ’s, primarily from the NYC Metropolitan area , made groundbreaking strides, including use of samples, new rap lyrical patterns and use of different instrumentation. From Big Daddy Kane, to Cool G Rap, to the Ultramagnetic MC’s, to KRS-One, to Chuck D, to MC Light, to all of the Native Tongues, there was a proliferation of vibrant, unique and dope tracks, albums and performances. The Jungle Brothers personified this, fusing jazz and even House music into their Hip-Hop. They helped open a lane that the rest of the Native Tongue Family exploited. DeLaSoul, A Tribe Called Quest and even the Black Sheep brought their unique approaches and wound up selling more records and becoming more well known than the JB’s, but no one can deny that the Jungle Brothers cleared the way with their style, fresh approach and dope songs. The members of the JB’s are Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam), and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). When they came out with “Jimbrowski” we all knew this was some new ish. I could not stop playing the tape, cause I couldn’t figure out which song I liked the best. Was it “Straight Out the Jungle”, “I’ll House You”, “The Promo” or “Because I Got It Like That”? And we didn’t have to wait long to get another dose of the JB’s. They released the “Done by the Forces of Nature” album in 1989, and I had another favorite track – “J Beez Comin Through”. Ok, I’m down with the classic JB’s, but I highly recommend checking out the JB albums throughout the years.
Check out my Top 5 from the Jungle Brothers:
- “I’ll House You”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7_1Xb5Uc8U
- “The Promo” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0LlYnokkEQ
- “Straight Out the Jungle”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0wVNPWWZIw
- “J Beez Comin Through”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2m7YrqQWPY
- “Jimbrowski”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx5uJU7QjCA
#Classic Hip Hop
#JungleBrothers
#I’llHouseYou
#Jimbrowski
