19 Naughty III is Naughty by Nature's Ubiquitous Win

There are a few dull spots, but overall 19 Naughty III is Naughty by Nature's second win in a row. Let's revisit!

A quarter of a century after its peak, Naughty By Nature is largely forgotten. They were one of the few "real" hip-hop acts to become huge at the start of 1993. Their 1991 self-titled album Naughty By Nature went platinum, and their 1989 debut album Independent Leaders, released under the group's original but short-lived moniker The New Style, went double platinum. They became popular on MTV. Thirty years ago today, when they released 19 Naughty III, it was one of the most highly anticipated albums of the year.

By the mid-1990s, Naughty By Nature had become the prototypical group for the new breed of hip-hop musicians enjoying crossover success. East Orange, New Jersey natives Anthony "Treach" Criss, Vincent "Vinnie Rock" Brown, and producer Kier "Kay Gee" Gist were a rap group known for their rough and tumble style. The great Queen Latifah discovered them when they were still known as The New Style. The famous 45 King recruited them to be part of the original Flavor Unit's last members.

Crossover rap acts didn't typically look like Naughty by Nature until around 1991. There was no indication that Naughty By Nature was raunchy in any way. A pair of Timberlands, some hoodies, and some bats and machetes were all they needed for their promotional photos. They radiated street life through and through, from their sound to their demeanor.

Naughty by Nature didn't have any forced moments. Treach was a formidable lyricist, and Kay Gee is still one of the early '90s' most underappreciated producers. The group created real, hard-hitting hip-hop and knew how to make a tune everybody could enjoy. The song O.P.P. was constructed around a distinctive call-and-response melody and a snappy beat from an instantly identifiable sample. However, I never got the impression that Treach was trying to dumb down his style or lyrics.

One of the earliest prominent hip-hop albums to experience delays, to the point that a rebranding was necessary, was 19 Naughty III. The album was supposed to be released in 1992 with the title 19 Naughty II (allusions to the original title are scattered throughout the new one). In any case, with the release of the massively popular lead single Hip-Hop Hooray in early 1993, accompanied by a video produced by Spike Lee, the expectation for the album reached a fever pitch.

For once, Naughty By Nature lived up to the promise. While 19 Naughty III isn't quite as excellent as its predecessor Naughty By Nature, it's still a fantastic effort that doesn't suffer from the band's prior success. Their album's lyrical substance was as raw as ever, so they didn't bother making any O.P.P. rip-offs. Treach songs still include an absurd number of words every bar, yet the language is never difficult to understand. Both MCs were combative on the mic, taking shots at other artists and rap groups by name. Kay Gee's productions don't rely on recognizably pop loops, and he makes music that works as well in the boom box, the vehicle, and the club. Almost all of the songs have catchy choruses meant to be sung along to.

The album's opener is a thumping, ominous single dominated by a booming bassline and screaming trumpets, on which Treach declares the group's return to dominating hip-hop. He starts with a Gatling gun flow, switches to short, clipped words, and then breaks into a sing-songy cadence. After a brief interlude, Hip-Hop Hooray, the album's first single and the group's second most significant success, begins to play. It became as popular as O.P.P. and was sung for decades at every frat party and karaoke night. Treach and Vinnie Rock do an excellent job swapping four-bar stanzas throughout the song's three verses, but the "Hey! Ho! Hey! Ho!" hook is what everyone remembers.

Vinnie Rock's role in 19 Naughty III is expanded. Vinnie's role on the debut album was that of a conventional hype man; he provided good support for Treach and added ad-libs to the songs' introductions and conclusion. His eight-bar stanza on Uptown Anthem, their song from the Juice soundtrack, and his one-note verse on Strike a Nerve from the album were his only contributions to the music. Perhaps due to the latter song's popularity, 19 Naughty III has more of Vinnie's rhyming. The album's second hit, It's On, is a musical departure, with Treach and Vinnie rhyming over a horn-heavy loop from Donald Byrd's French Spice. S.I.D., who had some success as a producer in the early '90s and was part of the Sid & B-Tonn duet, contributed to the production of this track and another one on the album. Treach launches into one of his greatest rapid-fire verbal barrages on the record. Vinnie also throws a weird jab at Sir Mix-A-Lot, with whom he has some beef for reasons I'm not privy to.

Some of the album's guests, like Treach, have great chemistry. Heavy D is first; he can be heard on the reggae-influenced banger Ready 4 Dem. Over a throbbing bassline, a seasoned rapper from Mount Vernon tries to keep up with Treach's quick flow and delivers some of his finest-ever lines. The album's highlight is Hot Potato, which finds Treach squaring off with Long Island hard-rocker Freddie Foxxx on the mic. Treach and Foxxx pass the lyrical hot potato, swapping booming verses over bass and keyboard-driven beat.

Featuring the re-freaked piano interlude from Isaac Hayes' Ike's Mood, Knock 'Em Out the Box is a short single that contrasts the flawless production with the rough lyrics of Treach and the Rottin Razkals, a group of teenage musicians that came up with Naughty by Nature. The group's members were rough around the edges, but they had promised. Later, Naughty had the band signed to Illtown Records and produced their first album, Rottin' ta da Core, released in 1995.

In Sleepin’ On Jersey, Treach demonstrates his ability to rhyme at breakneck speeds. In under three minutes, he spits three fast rhymes over a sample of Sunshine by Earth, Wind & Fire. He then tells other fools not to talk crap about the young Tung Twista behind his back while taking a rather apparent jab at him. Latifah spices up the chorus with some dancehall-inspired vocals.

Through 19 Naughty III, the band displays various lyrical topics. In his songs Written On Ya Kitten and Sleepwalkin' II, Treach reveals his mixed feelings about the sex opposite. In addition, the stakes become higher. Treach continues his story from Ghetto Bastard in Daddy Was a Street Corner, in which he explains how the streets came to serve as his substitute father. He describes the struggles of being a young person on the streets, alone and trying to make ends meet. Kay Gee's signature resonant basslines and horn stabs provide some of the song's most dynamic production. During the song's verses, piano breakdowns can be heard.

In terms of sales, critical acclaim, and overall effectiveness, this album was a massive win for Naughty By Nature. The group continues to impact because they set the standard for how successful hip-hop groups should operate artistically and commercially. To make room for The Notorious B.I.G. and the rest of the Bad Boy Records group, it seems that Puff Daddy, early in his career, took cues from what they were doing and shifted more toward the pop side.

19 Naughty III is one of the few hip-hop albums of the '90s that tried to appeal to a larger audience without abandoning the group's primary following. Naughty by Nature managed to find this middle ground and remain popular today.