Naughty by Nature
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| Naughty by Nature | |
|---|---|
 DJ Kay Gee, Vin Rock and Treach
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | The New Style |
| Origin | East Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Label(s) | TVT Records Tommy Boy Records |
| Associated acts | Queen Latifah Eazy-E Tupac Shakur |
| Website | NaughtyByNature.com |
| Members | |
| Treach Vin Rock DJ Kay Gee |
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Naughty by Nature is a Grammy Award-winning American Hip hop group that at the time of its formation in 1989 consisted of Treach, Vin Rock, and the DJ Kay Gee. The group formed in East Orange, New Jersey (colloquially referred to as "Illtown" in the 1980s). The group first appeared on the music scene in 1989 releasing an album called The 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, and subsequently changed their name.
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[edit] Mainstream success
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, 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 also has become well known in pop culture, being mentioned in TV shows 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, and being ranked the 20th best single of the 90s by Spin magazine. [1]
The album also generated another hit called "Ghetto Bastard" (the track is often referred to as "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"). That song detailed the experiences of Treach growing up in poverty, and now rising up to live a better life. 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. Later they had multiple hits from their third and fourth albums, called 19 Naughty III and Poverty's Paradise respectively. Poverty's Paradise won the Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Rap Album.
"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 Kris Kross.
The group also scored a major hit with the track "Uptown Anthem", from the soundtrack to the 1992 film Juice.
Naughty by Nature is ranked the 793rd best musical artist of all time by Acclaimedmusic.net. [2]
[edit] Illtown Records
In later years, Naughty by Nature started their own music imprint, Illtown Records, and released an album from their proteges the Rottin Razkals. The group (mainly Kaygee) worked closely with a number of R&B groups over the years particularly Zhane and Next.
[edit] Naughty by Nature changes
A dispute regarding finances developed between DJ Kay Gee and Treach, with Treach blaming Kay Gee for squandering the group's finances. 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. In May 2006 after a fist fight to settle their differences, Kay Gee reunited with Treach & Naughty by Nature at a concert at B.B. King's nightclub. They will be working together on their next album.
[edit] DJ Kay Gee
DJ Kay Gee has been extremely successful building his Divine Mill imprint with platinum plus albums on both (Divine Mill acts) Jaheim & Next as well as platinum productions with co-producers Darren Lighty, Terence "Tramp Baby" Abney and Eddie Berkeley on albums by, among others, Charlie Wilson, Syleena Johnson, Eazy-E, Luther Vandross, Mary J Blige, Aaliyah, Stacie Orrico, and Brooke Hogan.
He has also made songs with 50 Cent.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Main albums
| Album information |
|---|
The Independent Leaders (as The New Style)
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Naughty by Nature
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19 Naughty III
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| Poverty's Paradise |
| Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury |
| IIcons |
[edit] Compilations
| Album information |
|---|
| Nature's Finest: Naughty by Nature's Greatest Hits |
| Greatest Hits: Naughty's Nicest |
[edit] Singles
- "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"/"O.P.P (Live)" (1991)
- "O.P.P."/"Wickedest Man Alive" (1991)
- "Guard Your Grill"/"Uptown Anthem" (1992)
- "It's On"/"Hip Hop Hooray (Pete Rock Remix)" (1993)
- "Hip Hop Hooray"/"The Hood Comes First" (1993)
- "Written on Ya Kitten"/"Klickow-Klickow" (1993)
- "Clap Yo Hands" (1995)
- "Craziest" (1995)
- "Feel Me Flow"/"Hang Out and Hustle" (1995)
- "Mourn You Till I Join You"/"Nothing to Lose" (1997)
- "Jamboree"/"On the Run" (1999)
- ""Feels Good"/"Rah Rah" (2002)
[edit] Trivia
- Treach was Tupac Shakur's cousin, and dedicated the song "Mourn You 'til I Join You" to him.
- The WWE "entrance song" for WWE Superstar Shane McMahon is Naughty by Nature's "Here Comes The Money".
- Vinnie is a cousin of boxer Mike Tyson.[1]
- The group's song "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" was featured on Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2.
- The group's song "Hip Hop Hooray" was featured on NBA Live 2000, as well as another version, albeit, silly, in Rayman Raving Rabbids.
- Treach had a brief feud with Posdnous of De La Soul over a seemingly disrespectful line in the intro to their Stakes Is High album. (The line was "Stick to your Naughty by Natures and your Kane...")
- Naughty by Nature was briefly featured in Michael Jackson's video for his hit single "Jam".
- Vin resides in South Orange, NJ.
- KayGee helped form the R&B group Tha' Rayne in 2000.
- Treach Had Beef with Twista in the Early '90s, regarding Twista's Speed Rhymes stating "that's all show, it's a gimmick."
