Naughty By Nature

Naughty By Nature is an American hip hop group from East Orange, United States. The group forms in 1986 under the name The New Style and is active from 1989 to the present. It consists of Treach, Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee, who attend East Orange Campus High School together. Their sound is associated with boom bap, east coast hip hop and hip hop.

Early years and name change

The group begins by performing at local talent shows and clubs in the East Orange area. It releases its debut album, Independent Leaders, in 1989, with the single “Scuffin' Those Knees”. After that release, Queen Latifah mentors the group and introduces them to Tommy Boy Records and her management company. The group then adopts the name Naughty by Nature.

Commercial breakthrough

Naughty By Nature reaches wider success in 1991 with “O.P.P.” from its second album, Naughty by Nature. The song samples “ABC” by the Jackson 5 and reaches number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also includes “Everything's Gonna Be All Right”, a reworking of Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry”, which appears as “Ghetto Bastard” on some explicit editions. The album is certified platinum.

During the early 1990s, producer Tony D alleges that the group uses a sample from his album Music Makes You Move in “O.P.P.”; the dispute is settled out of court. In 1992 the group contributes “Uptown Anthem” to the soundtrack of Juice, and Treach appears in the film in a cameo role. Treach later continues as an actor and appears with the group in The Meteor Man in 1993.

Albums, singles and awards

The group’s third and fourth studio albums, 19 Naughty III and Poverty's Paradise, both reach number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. 19 Naughty III includes “Hip Hop Hooray”, whose video is directed by Spike Lee and features Queen Latifah, Eazy-E, Run-D.M.C. and Da Youngstas.

Poverty's Paradise wins the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1996, becoming the first album to receive that award. It also includes “Feel Me Flow”, which reaches number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1995 the group produces a remix of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson’s “Scream”.

Later releases and changes in membership

In the mid-1990s, Naughty By Nature establishes Illtown Records and releases an album by Rottin Razkals. The fifth studio album, Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury, appears in 1999, is certified gold by the RIAA, and includes “Jamboree”, which reaches number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After that album, financial disagreements develop between Treach and DJ Kay Gee, and Kay Gee leaves the group in late 2000. He later establishes Divine Mill. In 2001 the group releases “Here Comes the Money”, which becomes the entrance theme for Shane McMahon in WWE. Treach and Vin Rock continue as a duo and release IIcons in 2002, working with producers including Da Beatminerz. The group then disbands later that year.

DJ Kay Gee reunites with Treach during a 2006 performance at B.B. King’s nightclub and rejoins the group. In 2010 the group releases “Get to Know Me Better”, featuring Pitbull, with “I Gotta Lotta” as its B-side, and later that year issues its first mixtape, Naughty by Nature: Tha Mixtape. Its seventh studio album, Anthem Inc., appears in 2011 and combines new material with re-recorded versions of earlier songs.

Live appearances and later activity

On 11 June 2011, Naughty By Nature becomes the first hip hop group to perform at Fenway Park, appearing during the NKOTBSB concert and performing “Hip Hop Hooray”. In March 2012 the group performs at the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, after the release of a documentary about Sugar Hill Gang. In May 2013 Treach says that Vin Rock is no longer a member, citing personal and professional differences. In April 2015 he says their disagreements are resolved, while describing the relationship as strictly professional and indicating that another studio album is unlikely.

To mark the group’s 25th anniversary, it releases the music video for “God Is Us” from Anthem Inc. in 2016. In 2019 the group joins the Mixtape Tour alongside Salt-N-Pepa, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany and New Kids on the Block.