In the Thick of It

The Urban Takeover remix charted in the top twenty all across Europe, and the Brothers were introduced to a whole new audience outside the realm of strict hip-hopism. The idea of all tribes hanging in clubs where DJs played hip-hop alongside drum-and-bass, jungle, techno, trance, house and other genres associated with dance culture reminded the guys of the early days of hip-hop.

"It's like everybody's creative. They're not coming to front," says Mike G. "Everybody's just coming to enjoy themselves. They're coming to enjoy the hip-hop beats, they're rocking to the drum-and-bass beats, they're rocking to the jungle beats. You got the kids breakdancing -- it makes me feel like the good old days when I see them cats getting off like that."

Jungle boogie: Afrika Baby Bam (left) and Mike G are the Jungle Brothers.

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• Afrika Bambaataa
• Alex Gifford
• A Tribe Called Quest
• Hip-Hop and Rap
• Conscious Rap

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Included among the new European enthusiasts was Alex Gifford, who had been a longtime fan of the group. The JBeez hooked up with his band, the Propellerheads, after Gifford asked them to contribute a track to his acclaimed decksanddrumsandrockandroll, which resulted in the cut "You Want It Back." The JBeez decided to enlist him as producer of their newest release after they received the tape of "You Want It Back." Well-versed in the big beats of old-school hip-hop and the frenzied BPM of drum-and-bass, Gifford helped the JBeez vision create a record with a "Junglennium party vibe," as Mike G describes it.

The result is a diverse mix of tracks that span from straight-up rap ("Down With the JBeez," featuring the Black Eyed Peas, Sense Live and Alex G) to kinetically charged drum-and-bass ("Party Goin' On") to the downright groovadelic that begs listeners to defy some sex laws ("Sexy Body"). The first single, "V.I.P.," finds the guys updating the Daisy Age sound for the Y2G by building the song around the I Dream of Jeannie theme.

With V.I.P., as with each of their releases, the Jungle Brothers have strengthened their unique identity, never aligning too closely with convention or shying away from innovation. "The experimentation, as people so call it, has been a learning process and has developed us into who we are," says Afrika.

"We don't want to jump in the same pot with everybody else," adds Mike G. "We just keep pushing the boundaries."

Surely Grandpa Bambaataa would approve.