Straight out the Jungle

Straight out the Jungle
Studio album by Jungle Brothers
Released	November 8, 1988 [1]
Recorded	1987–1988
Genre	Hip hop
Length	48:31
Label	Warlock
Producer	Jungle Brothers Todd Terry Q-Tip
Jungle Brothers chronology
Straight out the Jungle (1988) Done by the Forces of Nature (1989)

Straight out the Jungle is the debut album by the American hip hop group Jungle Brothers. The album marked the beginning of the Native Tongues collective, which later featured popular artists such as De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Black Sheep. The album's masters have a lower quality to other hip-hop albums of its kind, compared to the singles.

The single "I'll House You", added to the album in late-1988 reissues, is known as the first non-Chicago hip-house record to be a sufficiently big club hit.^{[ citation needed ]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
Mojo	[4]
NME	9/10 [5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[6]
Record Collector	[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
The Source	[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10 [10]
The Village Voice	A− [11]

The Los Angeles Times noted that, "From romance to racism, the JB's tell it like it is with a charismatic and suave funkiness." ^[12] Trouser Press concluded that "despite strong entries like 'Because I Got It Like That' and 'Sounds of the Safari', several duff tracks diminish the album, while the vestigial old-school beats and rapping style leave the rest sounding dated." ^[13]

In 1998, Straight out the Jungle was selected as one of The Source 's "100 Best Albums". ^[14] In 2022, Rolling Stone placed it at number 116 on their list of the "200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". The magazine's writer Christopher R. Weingarten said, "[T]he inaugural volley from the Native Tongues collective, the debut from the Jungle Brothers was a playful, loose, try-anything album that machete'd its own path." ^[15]

Track listing

#	Title	Producer(s)	Performer (s)
1	"Straight out the Jungle"	Jungle Brothers	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee
2	"What's Going On"	Jungle Brothers	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee
3	"Black is Black"	Jungle Brothers	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee, Q-Tip
4	"Jimbrowski"	Jungle Brothers	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee
5	"I'm Gonna Do You"	Jungle Brothers	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee
6	"I'll House You"	Todd Terry (uncredited)	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee
7	"On the Run"	Jungle Brothers	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee
8	"Behind the Bush"	Jungle Brothers	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee
9	"Because I Got it Like That"	Jungle Brothers	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee
10	"Braggin' & Boastin'"	Jungle Brothers	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee
11	"Sounds of the Safari"	Jungle Brothers	*Instrumental*
12	"Jimmy's Bonus Beat"	Jungle Brothers	*Instrumental*
13	"The Promo"	Jungle Brothers, Q-Tip (uncredited)	Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee, Q-Tip

Charts

Album

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Billboard Top R&B Albums	39

Singles

Year	Song	Chart	Peak
1989	"I'll House You"	Billboard Hot Rap Singles	16
		Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	28

References

1. "Hip-Hop's Greatest Year: 15 Albums That Made Rap Explode". Rolling Stone . February 12, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
2. Huey, Steve. "Straight Out the Jungle – Jungle Brothers". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
3. Cox, Tom (July 17, 1998). "Jungle Brothers: Straight Out of the Jungle (Gee Street)". The Guardian . London.
4. Harrison, Ian (October 2010). "Jungle Brothers: Straight out the Jungle". Mojo . No. 203. London.
5. Langlands, Justin (October 15, 1988). "Technobush". NME . London. p. 46.
6. Tucker, Ken (September 29, 1988). "The Jungle Brothers: Straight Out of the Jungle (Warlock)". The Philadelphia Inquirer .
7. Draper, Jason (November 2010). "Straight Out The Jungle | Jungle Brothers". Record Collector . No. 381. London. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
8. Relic, Peter (2004). "Jungle Brothers". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  444–445. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
9. "Got Five On It". The Source . No. 150. New York. March 2002. pp. 174–179.
10. Weisbard, Eric (1995). "Jungle Brothers". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 204. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
11. Christgau, Robert (December 27, 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
12. Marlowe, Duff (April 2, 1989). "The Essential Guide to Contemporary Rap". Calendar. Los Angeles Times . p. 81.
13. Azerrad, Michael. "Jungle Brothers". Trouser Press . Retrieved September 20, 2024.
14. "100 Best Albums". The Source . No. 100. New York. January 1998.
15. Weingarten, Christopher R.; et al. (June 7, 2022). "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2025.