2 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Essential Native Tongue recordingThursday, February 03, 2005
If you loved albums like De La Soul's "3 Feet High & Rising" and A Tribe Called Quest's "People's Instinctive Travels & The Paths of Rhythms," don't stop there! You need this album too! This one gives off many of those same vibes, and some may consider this to be better than those debut albums. The Jungle Brothers actually preceded De La and the Tribe on their 1988 debut "Straight Out The Jungle."
The Jungle Brothers were easily the most afrocentric members of the Native Tongues. That's their specialty displayed here, but they make the jams fun and creatively go off-topic here and there. The production on this is solid to very good, especially for the late-80's, mostly upbeat and playful to relaxing. Mike G. and Afrika(Baby Bam) weren't no Posdnous' or Q-Tips on the mic, but they were more than capable and above-average. They drop knowledge and love all over this album.
My favorite track here was the amazing and relaxing "Sunshine." Also remarkable was the Native Tongue posse cut "Doin' Our Own Dang." A great song, great verses by Q-Tip, Posdnous, Trugoy(Dave), and Monie Love, and a song every Hiphop head needs to hear! An classic late-80's jam. Other standouts are the title track(love that flute and sax!) and the spiritual "In The Days 2 Come." Actually every song on here is important, nothing I can refute. They throw in a couple club tracks, "What U Waitin' 4" and "U Make Me Sweat," that are actually stellar, especially the former. Listen to club tracks from today, then go back and listen to these two. You shall notice a big difference in quality! Other great tracks on this album are "Feelin' Alright," the intelligent and empowering "Acknowledge Your Own History," "Beeds On A String," and the beautiful dedication "Black Woman." They lighten the mood on "Belly Dancin' Dina," which is an acceptable change-of-pace, and drop some African tribe-type sounds on the rhyme-less "Good News Comin'."
"Straight Out The Jungle" is an excellent Hiphop album virtually free of profanity and frought with intelligent and spirtual thoughts. Think you can neglect these guys if you like old-school and Native Tongue Hiphop? You can't! The Jungle Bros. may have fallen off after this, but like I said, they did stand right with or above their De La and Tribe counterparts back then. Don't hesitate to buy, most definitely check this one out!
1 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:
After 14 years....Tuesday, October 07, 2003
I still rotate the cassette of this classic album. This is great music and hip-hop at its finest!! This quality gem outshines all the bling bling of todays hip hop. So give your ears & your conscious some lyrical minerals!! Nuff said.
1 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:
I dare you to listen to this music without movingTuesday, July 16, 2002
I remember the day I discovered the JB's. I was browsing in a record store in 1990 and found myself bouncing to the music the store was pumping through their system. I wasn't the only one enjoying the sound. A guy next to me broke out into a full-on, funky dance right there in the store at the end of "In Days 2 Come." It was great!
I bought the CD on the spot, even though I wasn't a big fan of hip-hop at the time. What a great decision! The music is fun, lively, and very infectious. "Black Woman" and "Doin' our own Thing" are two of my favorites, and I still get a kick out of "In Days 2 come," just thinking about that crazy guy in the store.
He may have been the only one to start dancing mid-store, but everyone within earshot probably wanted to. "Done by the Forces of Nature" is that good. You'll love it!
3 out of 4 people found the following review helpful:
CLASSIC!Friday, May 11, 2001
GREAT CD! THE JBs ROCK! I HAD THIS ON TAPE BACK IN '89 WHEN IT CAME OUT AND IT WAS GREAT THEN. I GOT IT ON CD AND IT IS JUST AS KICKIN! JBs, I WANT MORE!
2 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Another Classic by The JB'sThursday, January 25, 2001
Done By The Forces Of Nature may not be as mentioned as their debut Straight Out The Jungle is, but it is just as good if not better. This is definitely one of the most overlooked hip-hop releases and it's a shame since it is a classic. The JB's use all kinds of sounds in their mix including soul, funk, jazz, and even house. The sound is very upbeat and the lyrics are very positive (see "Black Woman," "In Dayz 2 Come"). Favorites include "Beyond This World," "JB's Comin' Through," and the Native Tounges posse cut "Doin' Our Own Dang." After this release, the JB's got more experimental, but they never produced another classic like this. If you don't have this, pick this up especially if you enjoy the works of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest.