Congo Natty

Congo Natty is the jungle project of Mikail Tafari, also known as Rebel MC. His music brings reggae and sound-system culture into the fast breaks and bass of jungle, with Rastafari, ancestry, and community shaping its lyrical world. The connection is musical as well as thematic: singers, MCs, and collaborators are central to records that treat jungle as part of a wider conversation with Black British and Caribbean music.

The 2013 album Jungle Revolution made that approach explicit. Released through Big Dada, it brought together collaborators including Benny Page, Serial Killaz, and Vital Elements, with Adrian Sherwood involved in the mixing. UK Allstars assembled several voices from the scene, while the album’s wider message connected the energy of a jungle record with ideas about unity and resistance.

Ancestorz (Rootz of Jungle) extended the project in 2022 through a much larger set of recordings. Its credits span MCs, singers, instrumentalists, and producers, with contributions from artists including Akala and Blackout JA. The digital release and later vinyl selection have different track counts, reflecting distinct versions of the project rather than separate albums with the same name.

Across those records, Congo Natty’s musical identity rests on more than the pace of the drums. The collaborations connect generations and places, while reggae rhythms and vocal traditions remain audible within the electronic production. For listeners exploring his catalogue, the Rebel MC and Conquering Lion names provide further routes into the same history, with each release retaining its own credits and context.