Interview by: Scrap Jackson Design & Layout by: Chelsea Coolsaet
“One time for New Jersey!!” “Jersey? Are you serious? New York, New York is where it all started, homie!” “C’mon! You down with O.P.P? Yeah, you know me! Hip Hop Hooray, Ho, Hey!!
When it comes to hip hop anthems and the advent of the genre, East Orange, New Jersey’s Naughty By Nature takes a backseat to no one. In 2011, we’ve talked to some major names in the music biz – Usher, Shakira, Sean Paul and others. In this issue, we rewind in time and chop it up with two of the early innovators; two cats who have been making music for over 22 years, Naughty By Nature’s MC, Vinny and super producer/DJ Kaygee. Third member, Treach, was unavailable for comment.
Scrappy: KayGee!! Vinny!! Wassup, my bruthas? KayGee: Hey, Scrappy! We just finished up our new album – Anthem Inc. Vinny: This time last year, KayGee got back with us and said, “Hey, do you think Treach is ready to do another album?” I told him, yeah, he stays in the studio while we stay touring. We made it happen, while at the same time VH1 was calling to recognize us in the Hip Hop Honors.
S: How did the VH1 icon homage make you feel since you’re still dropping tracks? V: It felt good, man, because it was an industry thing. Some of these guys today will get half a hit record or a regional hit song and then claim themselves as legends and all sorts of nonsense. But when it’s coming from your industry peers, it’s like an official stamp and not just something you put on yourself.
S: Fresh brands of hip hop permeate, but everyone still
bangs your party joints! K: True. Those records are called “call and respond,” so the crowd can feel like they’re a part of the record. You create, write and produce your experiences. Then, if your art is on point, the audience feels you.
S: Ya’ll just up the ante, making it fun and getting them
to commiserate! V: Yeah, the thing about Naughty By Nature is how we don’t get tied up with any controversy because it takes away from the music. Music is like an escape from your regular life. You don’t want to have your regular life full of drama, then tune into this music and culture where it is entrenched in drama. Have fun!
S: Growing up in New York City as a hip hop kid, ya’ll were a bridge for me. You celebrated the fun in hip hop without compromising your street cred! K: If you think about the history of hip hop, that’s what it started on – it was all fun. The street parties, even the battles, were all out of fun. We picked up on that, kind of grew on it, and came up on that, so making those kinds of records was natural for us. It’s changed now because times have changed. To be honest with you, I was just telling Treach not too long ago – that’s what’s missing in music today – the fun part of making records. People still want to party!
36 | Pulse Magazine SWFL
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