The Jungle Brothers are an American Hip Hop group, and founding members of the Native Tongues collective. The Jungles Brothers pioneered the fusion of jazz and Hip Hop and also became the first Hip Hop group to use a house-music producer. The group began performing in the mid-1980s and released its first album, Straight Out the Jungle, in July 1988. With Afrocentric lyrics and innovative beats, the Jungle Brothers were critically acclaimed and soon joined the influential Native Tongues collective. The original trio comprised Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam, a homage to Afrika Bambaataa) and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B).

Their first album, Straight Out the Jungle, was released on an independent record label (Warlock). The single “I’ll House You,” added to the album in 1989, is known for being the first hip-house record recorded outside of the Chicago scene.

In spite of the commercial failure of Straight Out the Jungle, Warner Bros. Records soon signed the group and 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 tribute album “Red Hot + Blue” produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Following a four-year break, the Jungle Brothers returned in 1993 with J Beez Wit the Remedy, another commercial disappointment. The Jungle Brothers involved themselves with an emerging Hip Hop organization called Ill Crew Universal (ICU) which released worldwide compilation albums and supported independent Hip Hop artists. Their fifth album, V.I.P. was produced by Alex Gifford of Propellerheads and, during production, they found time to add their vocal stylings to the Propellerheads tracks “Take California (And Party)” and “You Want It Back”. Their latest album to contain any new releases is 2002’s All That We Do.

Official site: Jungle Brothers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUokqPDGdjE