Naughty by Nature is an American Hip hop group that at the time of its formation in 1991 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.
Their first hit as Naughty by Nature was a track called "O.P.P" ("Other People's P..."), which sampled the Jackson 5's hit "ABC" and was released in 1991 on their self-titled album Naughty by Nature. The album also generated another hit called "Ghetto Bastard" (the track is often referred to as "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"). 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.
"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 2Pac film Juice.
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.
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, Kay Gee reunited with Naughty by Nature at a concert at B.B. King's nightclub. They will be working together on their next album.
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.
Album information
The Independent Leaders (as The New Style)
Naughty by Nature
19 Naughty III
Poverty's Paradise
Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury
IIcons
Album information
Nature's Finest: Naughty by Nature's Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits: Naughty's Nicest
