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.
Critical reception
The Los Angeles Times noted that, "From romance to racism, the JB's tell it like it is with a charismatic and suave funkiness." 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."
In 1998, Straight out the Jungle was selected as one of The Sources "100 Best Albums". 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." In 2025, Pitchfork placed it at number 71 on their list of the "100 Best Rap Albums of All Time". The website's writer Philip Sherburne said that the album's "funk breaks, rainforest sound effects, and call-and-response rapping established the sampledelic baseline for future Native Tongues classics from De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest".
Track listing
#TitleProducer(s)Performer (s)1"Straight Out the Jungle"Jungle BrothersAfrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee2"What's Going On"Jungle BrothersAfrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee3"Black Is Black"Jungle BrothersAfrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee, Q-Tip4"Jimbrowski"Jungle BrothersAfrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee5"I'm Gonna Do You"Jungle BrothersAfrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee6"I'll House You"Todd Terry (uncredited)Afrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee7"On the Run"Jungle BrothersAfrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee8"Behind the Bush"Jungle BrothersAfrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee9"Because I Got it Like That"Jungle BrothersAfrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee10"Braggin' & Boastin'"Jungle BrothersAfrika Baby Bam, Mike Gee11"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) Peakposition Billboard Top R&B Albums 39
Singles Year Song Chart Peak1989"I'll House You" Billboard Hot Rap Singles 16 Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 28
References