Naughty by Nature Biography

Naughty by Nature came together when New Jersey based members Anthony Criss, DJ Kay Gee, Treach, and Vin Rock established the rap group in 1989. Initially called New Style, the group released Independent Leaders in that year, featuring the single “Scuffin’ Those Knees,” and garnered moderate attention. But it was their sophomore effort, 1991’s Naughty by Nature, which featured the smash hit “O.P.P.,” which peaked at the top of the charts, crossing over to the mainstream and becoming ubiquitous in pop culture for the next decade. The success of the single brought the album to platinum status.

A string of albums followed, including 19 Naughty III (1993), Poverty’s Paradise (1995), Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature’s Fury (1991), and IIcons (2002.) By the mid-1990’s, the group had experienced enough success to begin their own label, Illtown Records, although DJ Kay Gee left the group at the turn of the new millennium. Naughty by Nature disbanded in 2003, but reunited in 2006, with DJ Kay Gee, and embarked on plans for another album release together. The mixtape, Naughty by Nature: Tha Mixtape (2010), was the initially result, and eventually the reunion sparked the 2011 album Anthen, Inc. Later that same year, the group became the first hip-hop act to appear in performance at Fenway Park. In the following year, they performed at the Garden State film festival in New Jersey.

Although Naughty by Nature continues to record and perform together, the single “O.P.P.” remains the song with which the band is still most frequently associated today. It earned the group significant recognition, including an American Music Award for Favorite New Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop in 1992. To date, versions of the song have appeared in a variety of television shows, starting with the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air shortly after its release and including Monk, My Wife and Kids, and the Office. The single ranks on a number of notable lists, including Source’s most important rap singles of all time.