Naughty By Nature "Naughty By Nature" (September 3, 1991)

The East Orange (NJ) trio of Naughty by Nature consists of lead rapper Treach, rapper Vin Rock and DJ/producer Kay Gee. Their self-titled album is the first by the group as Naughty by Nature, as their previous album, Independent Leaders, was released under the name The New Style. The group was mentored by fellow New Jersey native Queen Latifah and subsequently changed their name to Naughty By Nature. Naughty by Nature was a critical and commercial success, being certified platinum on February 6, 1992, thanks in large part to the smash single "O.P.P.", which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. Additional singles were "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" and "Uptown Anthem", which were both minor hits on the Billboard charts. "Uptown Anthem" was featured in the film Juice in 1992, and subsequently appeared on the film's soundtrack and is now included in the streaming versions of Naughty's LP. The success of "O.P.P." outshined the fact that Naughty By Nature released a classic album with some deep album cuts. "Yoke The Joker," "Guard Your Grill," the Queen-Latifah assisted "Wickedest Man Alive," and more, all serve to give the album a lot of replay value, even in 2019. I do not recommend you revisit Independent Leaders, but much love to Queen Latifah for seeing SOMETHING in that release that helped us get one of the best MCs in hip-hop history in Treach. Naughty By Nature was released on September 3, 1991. Revisit it...

Platinum advertisement for Naughty By Nature's self-titled album in '91 ...

Naughty By Nature "Poverty's Paradise" (Billboard, 1995)

'Poverty's Paradise' was Naughty By Nature's third album, it was released on this day in 1995 through Tommy Boy Records. With a knack for writing hits, Treach, Vinnie & Kay Gee, had 'O.P.P.', 'Uptown Anthem,' 'Ghetto Bastard,' and 'Hip Hop Hooray' under their belt, but it was also weighing them down. When their sophomore album produced the one hit in 'Hip Hop Hooray,' the industry responded with 500k less in sales than their debut. With a 2 year gap to work on other ventures, Naughty returned with Poverty's Paradise and I'm certain the label was pushing for more hits. They pushed 'Craziest' and 'Feel Me Flow' heavy on national radio, I still remember the 'Hot 97 is the Craziest' campaign. To me, the best tracks on the album were 'Clap Yo Hands' and Treach's powerful meaning of the chain around his neck on 'Chain Remains.' In 1996, the Grammy Awards introduced the 'Best Rap Album' category and 'Poverty's Paradise' went up against 2Pac's 'Me Against The World,' Bone Thugs' 'E 1999 Eternal,' 'Return To The 36 Chambers' by Ol' Dirty Bastard & 'I Wish' by Skee-Lo - Naughty by Nature took home the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album that year. With the exception of ODB, each was also nominated in additional rap categories, as well. Would you take 'Poverty's Paradise' over 'Me Against The World'? That's a tough one for me... both are solid.