Naughty by Nature is a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop trio
from East Orange, New Jersey that at the time of its formation in
1989 consisted of Treach, Vin Rock, and the DJ Kay Gee. They are
known for being one of the few rap acts who were able to balance
success on the pop charts with hardcore rap credibility.
The group formed in East Orange, New Jersey [2] (colloquially referred
to as "Illtown" in the 1980s) in 1988. They first appeared
on the music scene in 1989, releasing an album called Independent
Leaders under their then name the New Style. The album generated
the minor hit "Scuffin' Those Knees". After the release
of their first album, the group was mentored by fellow New Jersey
native Queen Latifah,[3] and subsequently changed its name.
[edit] 1990s
Their first hit as Naughty by Nature was a track called "O.P.P.," which
sampled the Jackson 5's hit "ABC" and was released in 1991
on their self-titled album Naughty by Nature. The song peaked at
#6 on the Billboard Hot 100 [4], making it one of the most successful
rap songs in history to that point in terms of crossover success
on the pop charts. The song has become well known in pop culture,
being mentioned in TV shows and films such as The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air, Malibu's Most Wanted, Monk, and The Office. "O.P.P." also
gained critical acclaim, being named one of the top 100 rap singles
of all time in 1998 by The Source magazine [5], and being ranked
the 20th best single of the '90s by Spin magazine[6]
The album also generated another hit called "Everything's Gonna
be All Right" (the track was also called "Ghetto Bastard" on
some explicit releases). That song detailed the experiences of Treach
growing up in poverty, and now rising up to live a better life. Powered
by the success of that song and "O.P.P.", their self titled
album went platinum.
Fellow New Jersey native Tony D, accused Naughty by Nature of stealing
a sample from his breakbeat album Music Makes You Move and using
it on their track "O.P.P." The matter was settled out of
court. Between albums, the group also scored a major hit with the
track "Uptown Anthem", from the soundtrack to the 1992
film Juice. Treach also got a cameo acting role in the film, his
first acting role.[7] Fellow rapper 2Pac also acted in the movie,
and Treach would befriend him. This led to a long acting career for
Treach and a long friendship with 2Pac. When 2Pac died in 1996 Treach
made a tribute song to him, called "Mourn You Till I Join You."
Later, the group had multiple hits from its third and fourth albums,
called 19 Naughty III and Poverty's Paradise respectively. Both albums
reached the #1 spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop Charts. "Hip Hop
Hooray" was a success from the album 19 Naughty III. Its video
was directed by Spike Lee and featured other hip-hop artists popular
in the early 1990s, including Queen Latifah, Eazy-E, Run-D.M.C.,
and Da Youngstas. Poverty's Paradise won the Grammy Award in 1996
for Best Rap Album, becoming the first album to win this award. [8]
It also spawned a hit song in "Feel Me Flow" which peaked
at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100[4].
Four years later in 1999, the group released its fifth album, titled
Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury. The album was fairly successful,
being certified Gold by the RIAA, and spawned the hit "Jamboree" that
peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 [4].
[edit] 2000s
After the release of Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury, a dispute
regarding finances developed between Kay Gee and Treach, with Treach
blaming Kay Gee for squandering the group's finances. Due to these
disagreements DJ Kay Gee decided to leave Naughty by Nature in late
2000. He started to develop his own record label Divine Mill. The
remainder of the group, Treach and Vin Rock, released an album in
2002 called IIcons, using a variety of different producers including
Da Beatminerz; the album, however, received a lukewarm reception
from the public. IIcons is their last album to date.
In May 2006, Kay Gee reunited with Treach and rejoined Naughty by
Nature at a concert at B.B. King's nightclub.[9] They are currently
working together on their next album, which will be titled Anthem
Inc.[10] In April 2010 they released the song "Get to Know Me
Better", featuring rapper Pitbull, as the first single from
their upcoming album. The B-side of the single was called "I
Gotta Lotta". The album is set for release in December of 2010.
[11]
In later years, Naughty by Nature started their own music imprint,
Illtown Records [12], and released an album from their proteges the
Rottin Razkals. The group (mainly Kay Gee) worked closely with a
number of R&B groups over the years particularly Zhane and Next.
They also perform former WWE Executive Vice President of Global
Media Shane McMahon's entrance song "Here Comes the Money".
[edit] Discography
Main article: Naughty by Nature discography
* Independent Leaders (as The New Style) (1989)
* Naughty by Nature (1991)
* 19 Naughty III (1993)
* Poverty's Paradise (1995)
* Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury (1999)
* IIcons (2002)
* Naughty by Nature: Tha Mixtape (2010)
* Anthem Inc. (upcoming December 2010)