Customer Reviews

Done By the Forces of Nature

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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!

Like their peers and fellow Native Tongue members De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, the Jungle Brothers have created some of the most musical and original hip hop around. Though "Nature" never sold like Tribe's and De La's albums did, it is a classic to those that gave it a listen. This album is much better both musically and lyrically than their debut "Straight Out The Jungle." The JB's incorperate old r&b, jazz, funk, and hip hop samples and mold it into some of the finest hip hop sounds around. The JB's focus lyrically on maintaining a positive environment and creating new forms of hip hop as opposed to the bragging and the love serandes of their debut. While people like Puff Daddy and Master P may be called successful due to the money they make, the Jungle Brothers are successful for creating one of the best rap albums ever made. This is a must have for all hip hop fans and followers.

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!

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.

If you like any Tribe albums, De La Soul, Blacksheep, Blackalicious, Jurrasic 5, and so on. This album by the JB's starts all that style in my opinion. This was back when sampling loops still was legal but this album was digging in some deep crates. It would be nice to hear it remastered but you got to appreciate the lo fi quality especially in the boom bap parts. Back when I first heard it honestly I didn't know what to make of it, there were some songs here and there I liked but it was still very different for my taste. Years later I started peeping it again and it made much more sense to me. Its like listening to any Kenny G album and then checking out some John Coltrane you might get lost. Pick up a copy check it out then wait and check it again , I think you'll dig it.

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.

Afrika Bambaataa had a profound influence on so many great groups. Tribe Called Quest and DeLa Soul get the most credit but there are many other native tongue visionaries. Years later this is the kind of album that I wish people paid attention too over fake gangsters and prepackaged beefs. Ignore that nonsense and enjoy smart lyrics and tight beats.

now this album i cannot get a fix on. for some reason, i become lost when i listen to it. it does not have the ooomph of the first one. however, there are still some great joints on here. i would rather nod my head to this on a stranded island than go to sleep and probably drown trying to "walk it out". seasons change i guess. still, the jbs got off on this.

One of my homies from the 10th grade slipped me this tape back in 89. Now these brothers were definitely alternative rap, but still dope. I will say that they were the least accessible of the Native Tongues crew. I would call them the Afrocentric Run DMC. Anyways, my favorite cuts are Black Woman ( Loved the ode to the Black Woman), Days to Come, Doin Our Own Thing( Monie Love and De La rocked it), What U Waitin 4 and Belly Dancin Dina.
I think 50 Cent's manager Chris Lighty was part of the JB's -They called him Baby Chris. This group paved the way for groups like Arrested Development.