Jungle Brothers @ Chevron Gardens
w/ Downsyde, Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics
Saturday, February 16, 2019
There ain’t no party like an old school party, and NYC legends the Jungle Brothers proved why on Saturday night, to a packed and vibing Perth Festival crowd. The hip hop veterans know how to put on a show with only the basic ingredients – two talented MCs and one DJ.
While perhaps not as widely known or praised, the JBs paved the way for such luminaries as De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. The group evolved and expanded hip hop, pioneering a harder, housier, big-beat flavoured jazz-rap sound, that incorporated some of the more cutting edge sounds coming out of Europe. 30 years on from their debut album Straight Out The Jungle, the brothers are still going strong.
Chevron Gardens is such a nice space to hang out on a balmy summer’s night, and there’s still a solid run of great festival sets ahead. A great selection of food and drinks makes it well worth getting down early with you mates to hang out before the show.
Those outside earlier were entertained by The Community Crew DJs on the small Garden stage, playing all sorts of funky, danceable treats, that had the excitable crowd already fired up.
Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics entertained the early crowd in her inimitable way, her powerful vocals catching in the summer breeze and soaring above the city, and her trusty band providing the beat. Following on, Perth hip hop royalty Downsyde were a great choice for support, with the boys recently reforming, recording and playing shows again. The veterans were clearly pumped to be performing to the growing crowd.
Whilst sometimes performing with a full band, they were playing a stripped back set tonight, that still packed a punch, with MCs Optamus and Beni Bjah stalking the stage out front and multi-talented producer and drumming rapper Dazastah at the back. (“He’s like our Phil Collins,” quipped Optamus.)
Delving into their back catalogue, they lifted Gifted Life from their 2003 album Land Of The Giants and their classic Les Fortunate from 2004 is still a banger. Newer tune Fortune and Fame stands up, and Beni Bjah got a chance to shine with his own powerful track about the indigenous plight, Survivor.
After another break, the inside stage area was starting to get really packed, and the vibe was really building. Things reached fever pitch as the Jungle Brothers burst on stage – MCs Mike G and Afrika Baby Bam working the stage while Sammy B, sporting an Australia t-shirt, manned the decks.
Kicking off the with brilliant but more chilled sounds of Brain, their smooth rhymes and harmonising was in full effect. It’s immediately evident how long these guys have been doing this, such is their effortless synchronicity.
It’s been over 10 years since the Brothers have been in town, and they were glad to be back playing to an adoring crowd, who appreciate real hip hop. They have a very natural and affable chemistry onstage – they’re not dirty, crude, offensive or political – they just put on a good time, trading rapid-fire rhymes. Clearly having a ball, they told us how all of them had only just made it here in time due to some flight issues – Mike G joking that Sammy B in fact had no underpants – but were meant to be here to party with us tonight.
The deep funky groove of What U Waitin’ 4 had the crowd moving, and their seminal Todd Terry produced record I’ll House You was an up front banger. Classics like Doing Our Own Dang and their first ever single from ’87 Jimbrowski, the lighthearted safe sex anthem, got a look in.
They played the original version of Because I Got It Like That, distinct from the more upbeat, and perhaps more well-known remixed version, but they dropped the huge Urban Takeover (Aphrodite and Micky Finn) drum ‘n’ bass remix of Jungle Brother aka True Blue and the awesome V.I.P. that was produced by Alex Gifford of The Propellerheads.
It was tracks like this that reminded you how original and open minded they were. Unlike many US acts, the Brothers often collaborated with UK producers, and they reaped the rewards for it, crossing over to a wider audience in the late 90s.
For a guy of almost 50, Afrika Baby Bam, can still move and spit with the best of them, busting out some funky ass moves, while maintaining his faultless flow. Witnessing two veteran MCs rapping together so tightly, so lyrically, and complementing each other so well, really emphasised the mediocrity of a lot of modern day rap. This was real hip hop, and it don’t stop!
Sadly the show did have to stop eventually – the boys didn’t want to leave and managed to sneak in a few more raps before they reluctantly left the stage, smiling as much as the crowd. The JBs still got it like that!
ALFRED GORMAN
