BY BANDINI • AUGUST 1, 2018

2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the Jungle Brothers’ debut album, Straight Out The Jungle. The trio of Mike Gee, Afrika Baby Bam, and Sammy B came together with an Idlers/Warlock Records release that showcased a fusion of Hip-Hop and House as well as forecast the Native Tongues movement. That LP also includes the first appearance of Q-Tip on wax.

Thirty years later, the JBeez are still going strong. The collective does shows, including a NYC homecoming at 2016’s first “Big Apple” edition of the Roots Picnic (embedded below). While the collective frequently hits stages, their discography has slowed since the 2000s. Along with some compilation releases, official remixes, and singles, the Jungle Brothers last released All That We Do in 2002.

Speaking with Take It Personal Radio on the second volume of the Native Tongues tribute mix, Mike Gee reveals that his esteemed squad is in the lab. “We’ve basically got a whole album in the can. We’re trying to polish it off right now,” said the MC/producer who now calls North Carolina home (2:56:00). “It’s all self-produced. Bam has a lot of the production. It’s mostly us; Sam has a lot of beats. It’s just us. It’s just us right now. We’ve got a bunch of songs done, but we still feel like we’ve got more to do.”

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