AMG Review of Egil Music Presents: Urban Jungle

John Bush
All Music Guide

This mix collection presents some of the best tracks in an emerging crossover between the quintessentially British dance style (jungle or drum'n'bass) and the quintessential American dance style (hip-hop). A few of the tracks are simply jungle productions, though by rap-influenced producers like Aphrodite, Roni Size, Natural Born Chillers, and Urban Takeover. The best tracks here chart an intriguing fusion between the two styles, resulting in the Joker (from the Dream Team) remixing Ice Cube and Mack 10, Dillinja reworking the Jungle Brothers, and Aphrodite redoing N.W.A. Given the raft of jungle compilations out there, it's a pleasant surprise to find an album that gives a new slant on two increasingly commodified styles.