Reception
Done by the Forces of Nature peaked at number 46 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It received general acclaim from music critics, who praised its Afrocentric themes, witty lyrics, funk-based sampling, and house-influenced production. The album received maximum ratings from both the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times publications. The former publication's Robert Tanzilo cited it as "one of the brightest records of the year". The latter's Duff Marlowe praised the album's diverse sound and lyrical themes, including social consciousness and individual self-realization. He wrote that the Jungle Brothers "present a vision of urbanized naturalism, a subversive and funky anti-intellectualism". The Boston Globe called the album "some seriously intense music that makes the commercial raps of Tone-Loc and DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince sound like a child's play". The New York Times noted its lyrical allusions to hip hop and African-American culture that are "enriching an always solid dance beat".
Rolling Stone writer Michael Azerrad gave the album four out of five stars and praised its lyrical substance, stating "the Jungle Brothers' positive, spiritual vibe (a direct descendant of Earth, Wind and Fire's) is as hip as their music". Yahoo! Music's Brett Anderson described it as the Jungle Brothers' "stab at edutainment". Steve Huey of Allmusic praised the album's eclectic sound and sampling of music genres such as jazz, R&B, and African music. In comparing the album to the Jungle Brothers' landmark debut album, Straight Out the Jungle (1988), Huey wrote that Done by the Forces of Nature "feels more realized in many respects, and is arguably the more satisfying listen". French newspaper Le Monde called the album "brilliant", and The Village Voice's Robert Christgau gave it an A rating, indicating "a great record both of whose sides offer enduring pleasure and surprise. You should own it". Christgau praised its musical and lyrical quality and elaborated on its significance, stating:
Somehow these young Afro-New Yorkers have evolved a rap version of urban African pop at its most life-affirming: the boasts low-key, the propaganda beyond hostility, the samples evoking everything tolerant and humane in recent black-music memory, this is music designed to comfort and sustain.Read more about this topic: Done By The Forces Of Nature
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