Nice & Smooth was an East Coast hip hop duo from New York that
consists of Greg Nice (Greg Mays) and Smooth B (Daryl Barnes). The
duo released four albums from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s. Their
first collaborate appearance was on the song, "Pimpin Ain't Easy" by
Big Daddy Kane on his album, It's a Big Daddy Thing in 1989.
Nice & Smooth's biggest radio fame came from "Sometimes
I Rhyme Slow...," from the group's second album, Ain't a Damn
Thing Changed, released in 1991. The song was a moderately somber
rhyme with introspective lines about poverty, AIDS, and drugs that
was set to the guitar loop from Tracy Chapman's hit "Fast Car." In
the summer of 1992, the music video received heavy rotation on MTV. "Hip-Hop
Junkies," which featured a sample from The Partridge Family's "I
Think I Love You" was also a hit, and it was once performed
live on Keenan Ivory Wayans’ comedy/variety TV show, In Living
Color. The duo is known for its humorous rhymes and catchy hooks.
They often appeared as guest emcees on albums by the Beatnuts, Gang
Starr, and Tony Touch among many others.
Another notable song by the group is "Funky for You",
off of their self-titled debut album. As a single it was released
in 1990 and contained the following lyrics:
Hey, yo, Dizzy Gillespie plays the sax!
Me myself, I love to max!
Red-Bone booties, I'm out to wax!
Stick-up kids is out to tax!
The line "stick up kids is out to tax" was later sampled
by hip-hop group Gang Starr.
Tupac Shakur intended to sign Nice & Smooth to his Makaveli
label[citation needed] and even recorded tracks with the duo for
the One Nation album. Trugoy from De La Soul paid homage to Nice & Smooth
by using each member's rhyming style in verses on the song “Simply
Havin'” from De La Soul's AOI: Bionix album. Smooth B wrote
rhymes for Bobby Brown that appeared in his debut album King of Stage
and second album Don't Be Cruel.[1] In 2005, he released a single
titled "Game Over," which was produced by DJ Premier.[2]
[edit] Discography
Album Information
Nice and Smooth
* Released: 1989
* Chart Positions: #26 Top Hip Hop/R&B
* Last RIAA certification: 200,000
* Singles: “More & More Hits,” “Early to Rise,” “Perfect
Harmony,” "Funky for You"
Ain't a Damn Thing Changed
* Released: 1991
* Chart Positions: #141 US, #29 R&B/Hip-Hop
* Last RIAA certification: Gold
* Singles: "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow," "How to Flow," "Hip-Hop
Junkies", "Cake"
Jewel of the Nile
* Released: 1994
* Chart Positions: #66 US, #13 Top Hip Hop/R&B
* Last RIAA certification: 325,000
* Singles: "Old to New," "Return of the Hip Hop Freaks"
IV : Blazing Hot
* Released: 1997
* Chart Positions: #75 Top Hip-Hop/R&B
* Last RIAA certification: 100,000
* Singles: "Blazing Hot," "Let it Go"