Jungle Brothers are an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

trio composed of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam) and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Hailed as pioneers of the fusion of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

, and

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

, they were the first hip-hop group to collaborate with a house-music producer. The trio released their debut album, '' Straight out the Jungle'' in July 1988. Their

hip-house Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip-hop, which originated in both London and Chicago in the mid-to-late 1980s. A British collaboration between the electronic group Beatm ...

club hit single, "I'll House You" was added to the album in late-1988 reissues. Fostered by

Kool DJ Red Alert Frederick Crute (born November 27, 1956), known professionally as Kool DJ Red Alert, is an Antiguan-American disc jockey who rose to fame on WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM in New York City and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of hip hop music ...

, the Jungle Brothers' success paved the way for

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

, and eventually the

Native Tongues The Native Tongues was a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal mem ...

collective that they founded.

History

The group's first album, '' Straight out the Jungle'', was released in 1988 on

Warlock Records Warlock Records is a record label based in New York City that was founded in 1985 by Adam Levy (born 1962), whose father was record producer Morris Levy. Artists that recorded for Warlock Records include Jungle Brothers, Royal House, Skinny Boys ...

, an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

. Soon after they were signed by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, with whom the group released '' Done By the Forces of Nature'' in November 1989. In 1990, the Jungle Brothers contributed the song "I Get a Kick" to the

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

tribute album ''

Red Hot + Blue Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

'' produced by the

Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

. Following a four-year break, the Jungle Brothers returned in 1993 with '' J Beez Wit the Remedy''. Their fifth album, ''V.I.P.'' was produced by Alex Gifford of

Propellerheads Propellerheads were an English electronic music duo, formed in 1995 in Bath by Will White and Alex Gifford. History Prior to Propellerheads' formation, Alex Gifford played as a backing saxophonist for The Stranglers appearing on the albums ' ...

and, during production, they added their vocal stylings to the

tracks "Take California (And Party)" and "You Want It Back". Their latest album to contain new releases is 2002's '' All That We Do''. In 2001, the group's song "What's the Five 0" was featured in the music video game ''

FreQuency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

''. In 2004, the Jungle Brothers joined with British producer Mr On to produce " Breathe (Don't Stop)", a version of "Breathe and Stop" by

Q-Tip Cotton swabs (American English) or cotton buds (British English), also Q-tips ( proprietary eponym), are wads of cotton wrapped around a short rod made of wood, rolled paper, or plastic. They are most commonly used for ear cleaning, although th ...

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

, combined with a sample of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's "

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. Written by Jackson and released by Epic Records on July 10, 1979, the song is the first track on Jackson's fifth studio album, ''Off the Wall'' (1979). Ad ...

" (the idea was taken from a bootleg remix combining vocals from "Breathe and Stop" and music from "

"). In 2005, the Jungle Brothers released a

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

and classic remixes and rarities

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

, ''This Is...'', which included remixes by

The Wiseguys The Wiseguys were a British electronic duo active in the mid to late 1990s. They only released one proper album together, as their sophomore album, '' The Antidote'', was solely produced by Touché. This album included the hits " Start the Co ...

, Urban Takeover, Natural Born Chillers, and

Stereo MCs Stereo MC's are an English hip hop and electronic dance group that formed in Clapham, London, in 1985. They had an international top 20 hit with their single " Connected" and a UK top 20 hit with " Step It Up". After releasing eight albums for I ...

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Straight out the Jungle'' (1988) *'' Done by the Forces of Nature'' (1989) *'' J Beez wit the Remedy'' (1993) *'' Raw Deluxe'' (1997) *'' V.I.P.'' (2000) *'' All That We Do'' (2002) *''I Got U'' (2006) *''Keep It Jungle'' (2020)

References

External links

Official siteJungle Brothers
discography at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{Authority control Alternative hip-hop groups Native Tongues members East Coast hip-hop groups Progressive rappers Psychedelic rap groups Warlock Records artists Warner Records artists V2 Records artists Gee Street Records artists Musical groups established in 1987 1987 establishments in New York City