Various Artists: Soul Jazz Records Presents Rumble In The Jungle (2LP, 20th anniversary edition) [SOUL JAZZ RECORDS]

Why you'll love it

Soul Jazz has repressed its jungle compilation as a 20th anniversary 2LP set. It gathers the moment when dancehall MCs met breakbeats at 160 bpm, with M-Beat and General Levy's "Incredible", Barrington Levy and Beenie Man's "Under Mi Sensi" remix and three cuts from the Ragga Twins.

This edition

• 20th anniversary edition
• 2LP set
• Thirteen tracks of ragga jungle on four sides

About the album

In the early '90s, somewhere between a London pirate radio studio and a sound system in the car park, jungle was born out of hardcore rave, hip hop breaks and Jamaican dancehall. Soul Jazz Records, the London label Stuart Baker started off a Camden Market stall, has spent three decades documenting music like this with the care of an archivist and the taste of a DJ, and Rumble in the Jungle is its tribute to the ragga side of the scene.

The MCs are the stars here. General Levy rides M-Beat's "Incredible", Barrington Levy and Beenie Man float over X Project's remix of "Under Mi Sensi", and Ninjaman, Bounty Killer and Beenie Man trade bars on "Bad Boy Lick A New Shot". Shut Up and Dance's "No Doubt", DJ Massive's "Final Conflict" and Cutty Ranks on DJ SS's mix of "Limb By Limb" fill out a set that runs, beautifully, at full tilt.

The Ragga Twins get three tracks, including "Illegal Gunshot", which seems fair given how many dances they started. Play it loud; the neighbours were going to complain about something eventually.

Tracklist

Listen

Out September 25, 2026 on Soul Jazz Records, a 20th anniversary reissue of the compilation.