De La Soul were one of the leading hip hop groups from the east coast alternative scene. Before even releasing their first record, they networked with two other hip hop groups that would form the creative nucleus of a collective called the Native Tongues posse. The posse supported each other, toured together, featured one another on select songs and remixes, and shared a common artistic and political perspective of hip hop and life. One of the other two groups in the collective, a group that also featured on De La Soul's single "Buddy", was Jungle Brothers.
Decked in bush gear, Jungle Brothers expounded on the metaphor of the city as a jungle first introduced by hip hop artist Afrika Bambaataa and his Universal Zulu Nation. Like De La Soul, Jungle Brothers is a trio of two MCs, Afrika Baby Bam (Nathaniel Hall in homage to Bambaataa) and Mike Gee (Michael Small), and a DJ, DJ Sammy B (Sammy Burwell). With the benefit of famous local disc jockey DJ Red Alert being Mike Gee's uncle and the group's manager, they signed with independent label Warlock Records on which they released several singles and their debut Straight Out the Jungle in 1988.
Their debut, like De La Soul's, is considered a landmark for alternative hip hop. Their energetic horn samples colored the album with a jazzy tone while Baby Bam and Mike Gee added light-hearted, humorous, and politically conscious lyrics. Their rhymes spoke out against street violence ("Straight Out the Jungle", "What's Going On"), foresaw ethnic advancement in society ('In time, I see a better black reality' from b-side "In Time"), promoted Afrocentric themes ("Black Is Black"), and parodied hip hop's stereotypical sexual themes ("Jimbrowski", "I'm Gonna Do You"). Still, the album is light and humorous and never takes itself too seriously. These qualities effectively make Straight Out the Jungle a prototype to De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising which came out a few months after. Although it might seem unfair, the Jungle Brothers's debut has since been overlooked by critics as alternative hip hop's landmark beginning in favor of De La Soul's debut. However, 3 Feet is considered a more concise album with better lyrics and a more innovative style of DJing for its time. Besides jazz rap, Jungle Brothers also ventured into "hip house" when they rapped over Terry Todd's "Can You Party". Their debut met to middling success but they were soon brought to national prominence with the success of their fellow Native Tongues members.
Here is the discography surrounding Jungle Brothers's debut album:
Jimbrowski / Braggin' & Boastin' (1987 single)
On the Run (1988 single)
I'll House You (1988 single)
Straight Out the Jungle
Straight Out the Jungle (1989 single)
Black Is Black (1989 single)
If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.
Pass the Headphones!!
No comments:
Post a Comment