Released: November 7, 1989

Featuring: A Tribe Called Quest Queen Latifah De La Soul Monie Love

Songwriter: Posdnuos Trugoy the Dove Monie Love Q-Tip Jungle Brothers

Producer: Jungle Brothers

[Maseo]
Me, Plug Three, the one they call Baby Huey
The one that gets all the buddy (all the buddy)
Yeah, that's right

[Mike G]
A fat funky fruit with a whole lot of tang
A little something called "Doing Our Own Thang"
Breaking the beat others wished they broke
Bassline so dope that you just might choke
Don't bite off something that you can't chew
And don't trail behind when I'm coming through
Fronting the feel that you really can't feel
'Cause you're trying to feel what's on my reel to reel

[Q-Tip]
A tree is growing
Can't you see what I see? A white blue fruit to boot
We count to ten before we pass the coots, now that's family
Equipped with the brothers and the sisters and the sisters and the brothers
And all others, with the funky flairs, the bugged-out hairs
It's the life of Riley, I'm really ready
Gazing at the gala filled rap
The cool june bugs, the wicks, the wacks
Praise the rhythms for what it be
And praise the Lord for the JB's

[Hook: Queen Latifah]
We're doing our own thang
We're doing our own thang
We're doing our own thang
We're doing our own thang

[Posdnuos]
Isn't it cool when you cut your hand
And then the blood is red instead of sellout green
This is not the music for an RnB mind
This is flower intertwined with a vine
(In other words this is rose)
You see what I mean? Or see what Grandpa Bam saw
The funk we transmit is unstable
One condition if I am able to say
(Yes you may) Well hey, let's get on with it
Vocal confetti is thrown, sometimes spitted
Out the vents of hecklers and fans
Either which way they all hop on the van
The band, the band, here comes the band
The tribe of fingers all on one hand
Me, myself, and I is dark
Monie Love the mouthpiece, it's now yours to spark

[Monie Love]
Sister Monie, the only one here who missed a plane back to London
Residing with my brothers and I learned a lot from them
About the groove, how to be smooth and play funky
And sometimes rated it's kind of funky, but it's cool
For we are beyond the stereotypes
Coordination crazy, but still it sounds hype
Rocking off and on beat, and I do believe I'm right (You're right)
Am I wrong? (Yeah, sike!)
Don't be mad, be glad I missed the plane, I'm staying
With the Brothers Jungle, Soul, and the Tribe, I'm saying
Funky funky rhymes that always stay in swing
I believe we doing our own thing

[Hook]

[Afrika]
Well my family sets all the trends
From Soul II Soul on to Loose Ends
A&R men sign groups like them
('Cause that's where the money's at, honey)
Yeah, the industry's filled with copycats
RnB mixed with sloppy raps
Tribes like us always open doors
But what for, so you can get yours?
You ain't in to it, all you want is profit
So I ask you please to stop it
Leave me alone, get off my bone
'Cause I'm doing my own...

[Mike G]
A new seed, a new breed
A new menu to feed the greed
A new pair of boots for a new piece of butt
Sweet Daddy, are you there? (Sammy B is on the cut!)
Spinning back for a rap that's laid back
Ready to kick back, those that give no slack
I may rock a rhyme or I may start to sing
But still, I'm doing my own thing

[Dove]
In comes the mood of Jungle and Daisies
Play the sing and let the vibes raise me
All hold hands and let's walk about
Form a circle and talk about
Don't follow the path that we're stepping
Truth to the soul is what I'm cramming
Reasons for this is that the family's strong
And like Bob Marley said "We're jammin"
Seeing is believing, so see and believe
And let the groove of the new proceed
A whole bunch of love, peace signs, and fun
So let's do what's got to be done, you know?

Jungle Brothers

New York based hip-hop trio Jungle Brothers consisting of Mike Gee (Michael Small), Afrika Baby Bam (Nathaniel Hall) and DJ Sammy B (Sammy Burwell) with roots hailing from Harlem and Brooklyn.

Jungle Brothers are often underappreciated rap pioneering group that emerged on the hip-hop scene in the late 80’s with the Native Tongues collective and bearing the same afrocentric consciousness as their rap Afrika Bambaata and the Universal Zulu Naion. The Native Tongues included a conscious wave of emcees and rap Queen Latifah, De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest. The latter, on the other hand, were able to win the favor of rap fans and mainstream audiences by incorporating jazz instrumentation and styles into their rap patterns and delivery. The Jungle Brothers did not have genre consistency like their peer group counterparts and often experimented with varied musical styles that included – house, funk, jazz, soul and African music.

The group’s first studio album, Straight Out the Jungle (1988), released under independent label Warlock was not well received. The group released the single, “I’ll House You” the album featured two tracks with rapper/producer Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. In 1989, Jungle Brothers released their sophomore album, Done by the Forces of Nature which featured singles “What U Waitin' 4?” and guest appearances from Monie Love, De La Soul and ATCQ who were all part of the Native Tongues posse. Despite the album being critically acclaimed and featured production from Mike Gee’s uncle the legendary Kool DJ Red Alert. The outcome was the same as the previous. In June 1993, Jungle Bros released their third album, “J Beez with the Remedy” the group experimented once again on this project and encountered many difficulties and objections from Warner Bros.