Naughty by Nature, a rap group that emerged in 1989 with their debut studio album, Independent Leaders, initially known as The New Style, is a testament to the power of determination.
The trio, comprising Treach, Vin Rock (Vinnie), and DJ Kay Gee, hailing from East Orange, New Jersey, were not deterred by the harsh realities of their environment. Instead, they used their shared love for music as a beacon of hope, a means to rise above the statistics and create a better future.
“We knew we had to get out,” Vin Rock told the Daily Press in 1991. “We knew we wouldn’t last too long—either be locked up, or shot up, or something.”
There’s only one queen: Latifah, that’s that
Ya days when I was b*tching and the other twenty on your back
Now ya wonder why ya got jacked
‘Cause if ya diss one member of the Flavor, the whole Unit’s coming back
Luckily, Naughty by Nature decided to form their group in 1986 and, by fate, were discovered by Queen Latifah. The crew was at a neighborhood party in East Orange, Latifah’s hometown.
The birth of Naughty by Nature’s sophomore album
After putting their all into a demo tape, the trio signed to Warner Bros, and Naughty by Nature (1991)—the self-titled sophomore album—was born.
The album went platinum due to the group’s growing popularity and hit single, “O.P.P.” It sampled the Jackson 5’s classic record “ABC.” Despite the praise their follow-up project received, it wasn’t the one that helped the group make history.
In 1995, after releasing 19 Naughty III (1993), Naughty by Nature put out their fourth studio album, Poverty’s Paradise. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and produced the hit single “Feel Me Flow.”
The album also gained a Grammy nomination. Best Rap Album was a new category at the 1996 Grammy Awards. Naughty by Nature was up against 2Pac, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and more.
Naughty by Nature’s Poverty’s Paradise ultimately won the Grammy—becoming the first album to succeed in that culturally imperative category.
Header image: SCREENSHOT Naughty by Nature “Hip Hop Hooray” Official Music Video/ Youtube
