Done By The Forces Of Nature
Jungle Brothers
1989
Album Summary
Done by the Forces of Nature is the second studio album by American hip hop group Jungle Brothers, released on November 7, 1989, by Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in 1989 at Calliope Studios in New York City, and production was handled by the Jungle Brothers. It was mixed at Apollo Studios by Kool DJ Red Alert and the Jungle Brothers. The album's title may refer to a line from the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu scripture, wherein Krishna says, "Those who are deluded by the illusive power (Maya) of Nature become attached to the work done by the forces of nature," 3:28.Done by the Forces of Nature peaked at number 46 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It also received rave reviews from music critics who praised its Afrocentric themes, clever lyrics, house-influenced production, and eclectic sampling of music genres such as jazz, R&B, funk, and African music. Done by the Forces of Nature has been considered a golden age hip hop classic, as well as one of the greatest and influential hip hop albums of all time. In 1998, it was included in The Source magazine's "100 Best Albums" list.
WikipediaAh, to muse on what could have been. First thing to note is the cover: where is the parental advisory sticker? No need for one. For you see, what we have here is a less famous entry in daisy age rap, a short-lived tendency in hip-hop circa 1990 when rappers adopted a gentler, more playful, more positive stance. Of course, pop rap has been a perennial since Rapper's Delight, and daisy age led directly to the positive hip-hop of Arrested Development, but then it all died a death, buried under the juggernaut of gangsta rap. And I think everyone can nowadays agree that this was a real shame. Plenty of angsta rap has really not aged well (you know what, kids? People might get a bit sniffy if you express misogynistic and homophobic sentiments), and more generally, people would like a softer, more thoughtful take on hip-hop, which this album is. And from the off, the album delights. This is an immensely charming album, the flow charismatic as only old-skool hip-hop couplets can be. It's genuinely pleasant to hear a rap contain the lines: Stay out the dark and you'll find that you'll be strong Believe in yourself and nothin' will go wrong There's room out there for those who want some Because everybody's got a little light, under the sun. Even the tracks about the ladies are about good-natured flirting rather than objectification, and Black Woman outright praises, well, black women, directly saying that, along with love and protection, black women deserve respect, a most appealing concept. Also, the music itself impresses in its funky diversity, ranging from bebop to doowop to 80s squelchy synths. There are nits to pick. The album is a little too long, and I didn't really appreciate the message of In Dayz 2 Come, but I'm all prepared to overlook those because the album is such a joy regardless. I came away wishing that this had taken off, rather than The Chronic, a conclusion with which I suspect many would concur. Sometimes the best doesn't win. C'est la vie.
Pioneers of mixing hip-hop with house and jazz (in fact they were the first to do the former), Jungle Brothers pack their second album full of irresistible beats and singsong flow. Some of the rhymes are wonderfully corny in that special late 80s way.
I really enjoy discovering the environmental message of these 80s hip hop
Really fantastic, these guys are great, clearly they paved the way for a lot of groups who came after. I hear them in De La Soul and even a little in Digital Underground.
Sweet rhymes, unique instrumentals, and fun, plunderphonics influenced production!
Aw yea. The simple kick snare pattern starts this trance like background where instruments and voices come in and fade out. sneaky Parliament sample at the end of Sunshine. Good Newz Comin' is a house beat jam. damn what a cool album.
A stone cold hip hop classic - I needed no introduction to this - conscious rap over some wonderful samples probably my favourite rap album ever....
Proto Tribe if I ever heard it. Tribe honed the blade, but the Jungle Brothers forged the weapon.
There should be quite some albums from Black Sheep, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah, Tribe Called Quest etc in the list. Most of their albums in period 87-94 or so.. all five stars, including this one of course.
Love the lyrics and style, clearly influential in the scene of hip hop/rap
Absolutely no prior knowledge of this but what an album. Another gem from indisputably the golden age of hip hop. This sort of stuff is why I can't say I don't like hip hop, I'm just very selective.
These guys should write a manual like "How to do 90s hip-hop sound even more 90s". I felt transported to another time listening to this album, and I liked it much more than when I lived in the 90s. The mixture of sound and percussion instruments/beats is unique (at the same time, that was extensively used around hip-hop for the next 10 years after this release), and the lyrics and voices are unforgettable. It looks like a very influential album I should listen to more times in the following years. Hip-Hop albums are always too many dependents on the context, but they shine when some are also so influential and time-transporting like this one.
Never heard of it before, my history with 80s/90s hip hop has been limited to just occasional Tribe Called Quest or The Roots. On research after listening, you can really hear how this was the foundation of those later acts. Rapid fire, bouncy hooks and social awareness. I dig it.
solid outing, if overshadowed by their better known work fav track: doin' our own dang
So much of the basis apparent of the first hip hop I really fell in love with, De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest.
Great album. In a time when "gangsta" rap was coming about, the jungle brothers (along with other artists in their Native Tongues collective) were rapping about their environment and spreading knowledge to empower people(wanting to spread good vibes). As far as MCs go their lyrics are among the top and their beats aren't stuck in one genre, sampling from so many influences, giving them a unique sound. They continue to impress with each bar spitting poetry instead of memes(or relying on current references to keep their music relevant, which is why they will remain timeless)
This album is kinda cheesy now- reminds me of when people had 80s street dance offs with cardboard on the ground. But there is some important black culture here and I did enjoy hearing it. I can see Will Smith borrowed heavily from them too
No way! Easily the least appreciated group in the Native Tongues collective, alongside Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. Very groovy, dance-y beats that sound a tad more dated than Tribe, but can you blame them? This was released in '89, I would've guessed mid-'90s! The rapping is great of course, but if we're going to compare to Tribe, they don't quite have the banter or charisma that elevated Q-Tip and Phife to legendary status. That perhaps explains why they aren't as well-known, but this is still a fantastic, really enjoyable album. Conscious, Afrocentric lyricism over some of the best jazz beats the era had to offer. I especially liked hearing the sample on "Beeds on a String" of one of the tracks Kanye sampled on "Fade" in 2016. The phrase "underrated classic" appears in the wikipedia page, and I think it's an apt descriptor. Favorite tracks: Tribe Vibes, Feelin' Alright, Doin' Our Own Dang, Black Woman, Beeds on a String. Album art: LOVE this one. Fantastic colors, great artistry. The kind of cover I like to get lost in looking for all the little details. 4.5/5
I'm going to give this album another listen because after one I think this may be something on the level of Tribe Called Quest. There were a few duds but almost all of the songs hit in some way for me. The lyrics were fantastic, the beats were those great late 80's early 90's, and I loved all the track titles with the "2" or "U" in quotes. This is also a phenomenal album cover. Favs were Feelin' Alright and Acknowledge Your Own History. These are the albums I hope to see on this list.
I think this album got better towards the end Generally, I liked the album but I didn't find it consistently musically interesting enough to love it. The lyrics were good especially on songs like Acknowledge Your Own History, but I didn't like the musical aspect of it a lot. I really like the synth lead on Belly Dancin' Dina but the lyrics on that track aren't as good. Some lines like "I like to have fun by the ton" from (Done by the Forces of Nature) sound like Dr. Seuss which is not exactly the best. My favorite part of the album was probably the social commentary. Songs like Black Woman sound pretty modern which is not the case with some songs from the 80s and 90s about women (looking at you Jeru The Damaja...). Overall, I think the album gets better and more consistent towards the end. Favorite songs: Feelin' Alright, What "U" Waitin' "4"?, Good Newz Comin', Beeds On a String, J. Beez Comin' Through, Black Woman, In Dayz "2" Come, Doin Our Own Dang Decent 7/10
Alkuun ihmettelin, miten juuri tämä levy perustelee paikkansa 1001 levyn joukossa. Ehkä juuri siksi, ettei ole puhdas hipitihopräpäytys-levy, vaan levylle on koottu makumaailmaa muista tyyleistä. Hauskoja jazz-tyylisiä ja funkahtaviakin beatteja ja rytmejä. Vastapainona jossain What "U" Waitin' "4"? 'ssa on yksinkertaisuudessaan ihan maaginen ja tarttuva bassokuvio ja esimerkiksi Good Newz Comin' biisissä lisävärinä vikkelät bongorummuttelut ja Tribe Vibesissa torvet. Vähän kun maiskuttelin enemmän tätä levyä, niin on jeppis ja rento meno. Pyöristin melkein jo syöttämäni kolkin lopulta ylöspäin, vaikka ehkä turhan venytetty levy nelkulle. Toisaalta, levy soimaan kesällä korvanappeihin, kun fillaroi pitkin merenrantaa, niin voisi paukkua vitosetkin.
In the tradition of De La Soul and Tribe called quest this is classic old school hip hop, rooted in jazz break beats and R&B samples. It also has a few songs which are more funk inflected and almost reach the G-Funk sound. At the end of the album it’s got a meandering tone, lots of sample/break medleys, that is awesome—very loose, as opposed to song, song song. The break in “Doin our own dang” is dope, I could listen to it on repeat for hours. I know the jungle Brothers but never heard this album in full, loved it.
Miks između De La Soula i ATCQ Razigran album, ritmičan, sa dost dobrih stvari. Moooožda je mal dug za koju pjesmu, al to je većina kod tih rep/hip hop albuma, kriptonit njihov. Sve u svemu, dost dobar album, jeben vibe, baš se potrefilo dva slična albuma na random od 1001 albuma zaredom. Feelin' Alright kako pjesma nalaže. 3.8/5
Some elements were typically sounding early hip-hop, but incorporation of different instrumentation (jazz, tribal) made it stand out.
Exactly why I am taking this daily journey! Never heard of them before or any of their songs. Loved it! Success!
Very good golden age hip hop. I never really gave them much time before but should listen more.
4.1 - It's got that 125th and Lenox vibe - I'd hear these jams pumping from the street vendors selling bean pies, ginger juice, bootleg recordings of Malcolm X and tapestries adorned with the likeness of Haile Selassie. Uplifting, funky conscious rap that manages to not descend into the preachy and political. I appreciate the tribute to the "Black Woman", nice to hear a shout out to the sistuhs. These are non-stop bops underpinned by hard beats from the old school, and cool samples from jazz, African, R&B, funk. Really, what's not to like?
Probably 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the album a lot for never hearing of the artist before. Unfortunately most of the lyrics are forgettable over basic beats. Good for 80's rap I guess
9/28 Funky, feel good, conscious rapping, real talented group. Standout Tracks: Feelin' Alright, Sunshine, Acknowledge Your Own History, Good Newz Comin', Done By The Forces Of Nature, Doin' Our Own Dang
Wow this was a really fun listen I can't wait to delve deeper. Super smooth vocals and luscious beats. 4 🌟
Refreshing to hear a positive and fun outlook throughout a whole album. Never heard of Jungle Brothers before but their style and attitude is infectious. Great album all the way through.
Never heard of the Jungle Brothers before and after listening to this I can't figure out why they aren't more well known. This album came out the same year as De La Soul's "3 Feet High and Rising" and is every bit as good. Fun playful lyrics and great jazz-inspired beats throughout the whole album make this a fun and joyful listen. Favorite tracks: Feelin' Alright, Sunshine, Black Woman, Done by the Forces of Nature.
The sound of africa, toffe ontdekking waar ik een paar nummers van meepak
Decent classic rap album. Really liked Doin Our Own Dang (most popular track). Lots of tracks had more upbeat melodies instead of darker or more serious tones of modern rap.
Awesome. Similar to Sugar Hill Gang, but better to me. Really enjoyed this one.
Solid album that seems to have inspired many rap artists as a lot of the fabric of this album I’ve heard in albums that came after this one.
Dig it! Added to my playlist. Immediately grabbed by the heavy beat of Beyond This World, enjoyed the dancing vibe of What 'U' Watin' '4', the great bass of Beeds on a String to the smooth listening of Doin' Our Own Dang. Although I understand how not everyone would be down with the infusion of Scat and Hip Hop as first apparent in the second song 'Feelin' Alright, along with the repetitive mumbo jumbo mix of Good Newz Comin' (reminded me of The Beatles Number 9) and not everyone wants to hear a 'message' and be all political when enjoying music. Can't help to think Arrested Development was influenced by Jungle Brothers, so much so I had to check to see if Speech was a member of Jungle Brothers.
Late 80s/early 90s rap is so distinctive. Great lyrics on this album, really powerful. Classic beats
It's been a long time since I've listened to rap in this vein. I really enjoyed this. So much going on and a lot of subtle, clever details. A fun listen.
Can't believe I've slept on this one all these years! So much forward momentum to the beats. Love the positive vibes.
Sounds both of its era as well as ahead of it's time in some ways. Surprised I had not heard this one before.
This album is so cool and classic. I love the mix between the important and intelligent criticism and clever sense of humor. I really like the cover art. Favourite songs: Acknowledge Your Own History, Good Newz Comin', Beeds on a String.
An Oreo and a Hydrox. Cheetos in the red bag and Cheetos in the blue bag. Pabst Blue Ribbon and Chimay Trappist Ale. I remember when I was a kid (1960-1970s) and the adults said that my music all sounded the same. And I guess to their uninitiated ears, Black Sabbath really did sound just like Grand Funk Railroad. But of course, you and I both know that those two really don’t sound like each other at all. Nor are they singing about the same things. Jungle Brothers are responding to their experience of being African-American at the end of the 20th century in quite a different way than, say, the infamous gangsta rappers. I think this is at least one of the reasons why some white people continue to purposefully mislabel this entire genre as crap rather than rap. They just don’t know any better, having spent virtually no time with it at all. In this way, rap is no different from country music- they’re both acquired tastes. I found Jungle Brothers to be a refreshing change from the violent, materialistic, misogynistic worldview of the much more publicized rap that white folks see on music videos and hear blaring out of car stereo speakers- that one can be authentically black in America without resorting to violent retaliation or irresponsible fucking or being high all the time. ‘The city’s a jungle,’ the opening track of 'Done By The Forces Of Nature' pronounces, ‘and we are the brothers. This so-called king of the jungle will run for cover. All of your minds have been set into a trance. So instead of fighting out your problems… we order ya’ll to dance!’ Dis it if you want. But have we even/ever given that a genuine try?
Not my favorite 80s hip-hop (and wouldn't have made my list), but still fun and thoughtful.
Really like the mix on this album. Lot's of different styles and samples, positive vibes, and some super corny 80's lyrics. Interesting to speculate on how hip hop would have evolved had something like this became more popular vs. the NWAs and Wu Tangs.
Never heard of these guys. Being I late teen at tis time I am surprised that I had not. Definitely my style of rap. They not only reference but have a De La Soul quality about them. Love the little infused sound bites and samples they add with a bit of wit and charm. This album is just flat out COOL! Definitely should be a listen.
True classic hip hop in the vein of Earth, Wind, and Fire or Grandmaster Flash
I don’t know why I wasn’t pumped when I saw this album show up. Listening to it and thinking about the BASIC pop rap out at the time makes my head spin. Such a great group.
Awesome album. Can hear the groove/beats that many of the pillars of hip-hop dance (such as locking and popping) that use music like this.
Good hiphop album. I have a preference for stuff that came later like Pharcyde, but lot of great samples and beats in there. Nothing stood out in particular though.
11th March 2022 Started on Friday but had to finish on Monday cos we had Jen’s parents staying for the weekend. Kew Gardens and French food. Shame I had to experience it so disjointed, but I like the vibe. 90s hip hop.
Solid old school hip-hop with a somewhat eclectic array of sounds. Upbeat and enjoyable
Another nice throw back from my youth, it's amazing to reconnect with albums I'd almost forgotten about
Bouncy, housey, positive hip hop that's hard not to love. The only issue is that it is a touch too long. It's a symptom of the albums m being so wild and inventive, so it's hard to fault it too much, but if every track was a little shorter, it'd be perfect. As it is, it's merely brilliant!
De los discos que han aparecido del género, creo que este disco es muy superior musicalmente. Me hizo entender también que aunque la música es muy buena, no soporto tanto el rap como yo creía. 3.5 estrellas que subo a 4 pese no tener realmente ganas de volverlo a escuchar completo pero sí agregué 2 canciones a mis favoritas de Spotify. Songs: Beeds on a String, Good Newz Comin'
Seems fitting that this came out in 1989 along with the other great hip-hop records from the period. Done by the Forces of Nature showcases the Native Tongues movement at its brightest and ceaselessly innovative, giving us a glimpse of what was to come with hip-hop in the 90s. Favorites: Beyond This World, Feelin' Alright, Sunshine, What U Waitin' 4, U Make Me Sweat, Acknowledge Your Own History, Good Newz Comin', Tribe Vibes, Black Woman, Doin' Our Own Dang.
Hell yeah. This album is real nice. Crossing my fingers for more hip hop, or really anything besides Britpop lmao
This actually aged really well, especially when compared to similar projects of the era. All hail ATCQ and De La Soul. Best track: Sunshine
I really enjoyed this. Mostly hyping the African links to Afro-Americans. Big beats. Funky and jazzy. Not aggressive or too braggadocio. Really good fun.
This is great. I hadn't listened to much Jungle Brothers apart from singles before and this is as good as every other release from the Native Tongues Collective. Amazing blend of hip hop and early house. More mature than De La Soul and more fun than Tribe Called Quest. I will definitely play this some more
Very reminiscent of Sugarhill gang, heavily influenced the jungle scene of the 90s as well of course. Just missing a stand out banger to make it a 5
Not sure why I hadn’t even heard of this before. Hip hop not my thing but can see why this would make a list like this.
I didn't love this as much as I thought I might. That late 80s early 90s hip hop is one of my favorite styles. But the first half of this album lacked for me. Got real good in the back end though.
My education of real hip hop continues. Gangsta rap is a scam…bitches and hoes…blah blah blah…I bought that shit hook line and sinker for far too long. Done By The Forces Of Nature is entertaining, uplifting, and actually feel like a genuine cultural representation, not some Death Row Records manufactured bullshit.
Native Tongues was like a brand back in the day. If you like TCQ, then you'll like Black Sheep and Chi-Ali, both of whom I loved. Didn't get too far into the JayBees tho. Listening to it today it makes me feel a little bit of warm comfort in the simplicity.... but that wears off pretty quickly as it becomes simple and borderline boring. Good to go back in time with this one, but not something I'm going to dig out except for that Doin' Our Own Dang track. That's def going on a forgotten favorites playlist.
This was a nice throwback to when I was a little kid trying to listen in on my older brother and his friends listening to their cds.
Luke was very excited about me getting this one. I listened to it on a run. It was great! Really enjoyed the funky beats and that they were just telling stories about quite normal things.
This is class. Hip hop without talking about hos or using the n-word or having half the lyrics be explicit.
Lean, driving and understated, with beats intricately and subtly embedded. It’s likable enough and one supports the intellectual content and positive sentiments, but doesn’t engage on or elevate to the same level as Three Feet High and Rising, say. When the palette expands – see “Good Newz Comin’” – it’s more engaging. Still, a strong effort throughout.
As a die hard Native Tongue fan, I wanted to love Jungle Brothers more than I did. Their follow ups weren't stellar, but this album still has several outstanding tracks: Feelin' Alright, Good Newz Comin' and J. Beez Comin' Through still kick ass. The JB's helped educate me about afrocentrism and were a great answer to anyone in the 80's claiming rap music was all violent and negative. They could spit great rhymes, and made some excellent dance tracks, and their positivity and near-wholesomeness were incredibly endearing.
Hip hop with soul. Something that feels pretty rare in modern hip hop records. This is arguably the golden era of hip hop, concious lyrics, nice samples and beats, no gangster bollocks. My kind of hip hop. Really liked "Doing our own thing" and "Feelin alright".
Conscious/jazz rap is one of my favorite styles of music period, and I worship the first 3 + last Tribe Called Quest albums, so you’d think that I would have spun some Jungle Brothers before. But nope, this is a surprising oversight for me. But hey, this stuff is good! A little primitive compared to The Low End Theory, but I bet that even if I was a metal-blasting teen in the 80’s, I would have bought this with no shame. Will probably play again soon. B
It's pretty apparent from the sound of this album how it's a bridge from early hip hop to the golden age. Not my favorite from this era, but still pretty good overall.
Good stuff. Easy to see that Snoop and Dre were heavily influenced by this when they made Doggystyle.
Le côté « danse » de ce style de rap me plaît et m’invite à l’écouter à nouveau, surtout qu’il est reconnu comme un classique du genre.
late 80s hip hop. Kinda sounds like Tribe Called Quest, but not as good.
A really good album that I don't think I know I would have never listened to without this!
Decent lyrical material but suffers from poor production and bad mixing
Good for a bounce around. Benched a fortune of oysters were my favourite lyrics. Nice simple beats
Hip hop funky. Le daré un 3 porque no me ha molestado escucharlo. Pero no creo que vuelva a escucharlo.
Ok! En voyant la pochette je m’attendais à du reggae mais en fait pas du tout.. c’est du hip hop à l’ancienne ! Quelques très bonnes chansons à mon goût, hip hop old school sympa dans l’ensemble.
Never heard of em, but I loved this one. Sparse production but whatever drum machine they're using sounds gooooood in a Subaru. Most interesting thing: What U Waiting 4 is wild. Is that rap+house music. Hip house? House rap? Seems way out there for the time, and really works. Somewhat notable: Josh I hope you heard the hooga chaka sample. Midway through I was going 5, but then the album kept going. And going. And it all was still great, but once Tribe Vibes was done bumping the Outback down a dirt road I was ready for a podcast. B+
Didn’t like it…. More rap But back then seems like they were ahead of their time
Mit diesem frühen Hip Hop Sound kann ich nicht immer viel anfangen. Die Beats sind noch zu wenig ausgereift und der Flow halt auch. Trotzdem sind hier schon ein paar geile Elemente dabei. Eigentlich sollte es noch einen extra Stern für das Cover geben. Gab's aber nicht.
Kannte ich noch nicht, aber war ganz angenehmer HipHop. Nicht so viel Gangster Gehabe.
Noch nie was von gehört, aber nicer old school Hip-Hop. Soweit ich folgen könnte auch mit guten Texten.
First song: hmm giving me slight Beastie Boys vibes. Ok I looked it up cuz I was curious. Beastie Boys released their first album in 1986 and Jungle Brothers in 1988. So I won't say they necessarily ripped off, but it does seem like a pretty suspicious coincidence. Heyyyy I know part of (very little but a little bit) of the third song. Yeah this was good. Officially giving it a 3 cuz it sounded too much like Beastie Boys, but if it was an option I'd give it a 3.5.
I enjoyed the album but afterwards could not remember any specific songs
Jazzy jazzy soulful hippidy hop. I liked it but it didn't have enough for 4 stars. Will be checking out their other albums though.
In retrospect this is nothing special and the volume is weird on this. But it probably was more influential in real time.
3.5+. Only a single listen but enjoyed the vibe. Old school classic sound. Very De La Soul
Interesting - never listened to them before. I think I always got them mixed up with the Out Here Brothers!
With hip-hop still being a relatively new genre, we'll have a few entries that don't approach it the same as most others. The production on this album is interesting, because it's somewhat minimal in it's choices. A focus on just the drum beat, with a undercurrent baseline and occasional sampling means that the MCs are not overshadowed in any way. Speaking of, their lyrics and flow are super good and worth checking out. My biggest issue is that no songs really stuck with me on here, likely a byproduct of the minimalist production. The exception to this would be Good Newz Comin', which has a fun and funky instrumental outro. Oh, and A Tribe Called Quest is on here.
This type of music always makes me laugh. As someone born in the 90's and didn't really find hip-hop and rap until I was in my late teens. This just feels so incredibly dated and with a slight dash of cheesy nostalgia. But it isn't horrible. It's fucking fun, and I'll die on that hill.
this started off strong, but got a little...boring as we went along. i did quite like needs on a string, and the closing track was fun - but the rest of it kinda just blurred into a mass of (ahead-of-its-time) 90s hip hop. but that closing track...it sent me off looking for the sample they used (the coasters' shoppin' for clothes), because i'd heard it before, in the incredible track by barry adamson called hip no therapy. you should go check it out. totally worth hearing.
Cool beats but it sounds a bit similar to a lot of the rap music from the time - like Bust a Move is ready to break out at any time. The lyrics are better than others at that time...sometimes. U Make me Sweat is one of the songs where the lyrics are of the same fun but cheesy and basic variety of other songs from that era. Acknowledge Your History and Beyond this World have more substance. The album is easy to listen to in the background, but like background it fades away quickly. I definitely enjoyed it, just nothing terribly unique or memorable about the album.
I had never heard of this group before. I enjoyed the groove, but it felt very… basic and dated in comparison to what I have heard out there now. It’s not really fair to put it that way, though. But De La Soul’s work doesn’t have that archaic sense to it. It all feels pretty timeless. This feels more like them trying stuff out.
Never heard or even heard of before, but I sure recognize De La Soul. Very positive, clever and fun.
Beastie boy vibes but better. Not a BB fan. I hear a lot of influence in newer music that stemmed from this group.
Really funky rap, I like the rhythms and all but I can't see myself hearing it normally
I'm not born for hip-pop, I guess. But can see it being the pioneer of numerous great hit songs in recent years. Like some of the elements in it but sadly none hit me.
Good, but it's hard not to compare it to superior output from their Native Tongues compatriots.
Some cool songs. I probably wouldn’t listen again, but I also probably wouldn’t skip if they came up again.
Je m'attendais à écouter un album de reggae en lançant cet album, ce ne fut pas beaucoup mieux puisqu'il s'agissait bien d'un album d'une heure de hip-hop, genre que j'avais pourtant signalé à Robert ne plus vouloir voir dans ce générateur. Robert n'a eu que faire de mon mécontentement, et s'expose à un terrible retour de bâton de ma part.
Decent old school rap album. Feels as though this was kind of the middle ground between what tribe made and the original styles of rapping. These guys had rhythm and were very black forward. The African themes are pretty strong here. They also mix it up with some 80s beats and djing. Overall it’s decent. 6.1/10
Pretty cool/positive affirming old-school Hip Hop. Watching the music video for Beyond This World was fun. Overall pretty funky and even has some disco touches in it. While it's fun, I am not sure it really does anything very unique, but overall I like it. 3.5 to 3.
Classic Old school rap that feels a bit dated but is not bad by any means
Certainly influenced by grand master flash, samples from Blue Suede and a lot of De la soul sound in it
Big party hip hop album, I really liked it and hadn't heard them before. Similar to De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest but more dancey
Surprisingly good. Nice beats, positive messages. Sounds like a precursor to Bell Biv Devoe, De La Soul, and Arrested Development. Great album art too!
I mean...it was a good album, at least solid, but not really my thing. I can see why a lot of people would like it, and it's very danceable so that gets an extra point or two from me. Great grooves to a lot of the songs. Fave track: EASILY sunshine. The sample of Flashlight was a really fun nod.
some great tunes on here that is didn't know came from Jungle bros. will do more investigating
Some great hip hop. Solid beats and lyrics without the blatant misogyny that has permeated a lot of the other hip hop albums I've been given so far! This is really good to just have on in the background as well. Nothing, unfortunately, that really stood out to me, however.
Done By the Forces Of Nature takes you back to the golden age of Hip Hop with their afro-centric lyrics and sampling music from all kinds of genres. It felt like being transformed back to the 80s surrounded by a crew of b-boy dancers. Best: What U Waitin' 4? Worst: In Dayz 2 Come
Not my bag, but good stuff just the same. A few tracks ran a bit monotonous but most were enjoyable.
It's nice and funky, a fun time to find all the samples. The time before hiphop had to be a certain way. And they've got something to say luckily. But it never transcends into a great album. Enjoyable and very listenable. Just not great.
Rap muy sencillo que llega hasta a ser agradable. Creo que después del disco de The Roots con el que empezamos la lista, este ha sido el que más me puede pasar en este género.
Production and flow is ridiculous. It does get a little.big repetitive but I'm not complaining too much
When it comes to hip hop, this era of jazz influenced, socially-conscious groups is tops for me. I love many of the other Native Tongues groups but have never really listened to the Jungle Brothers for whatever reason. I don't find them to be as compelling as De La, Tribe, or Black Sheep but it was still pretty good.