Naughty by Nature speak to Skiddle ahead of their WHP slot this weekend

Naughty By Nature are the latest in a line of hip-hop artists to release anniversary albums, which apart from giving us more great music to dance around to, makes us feel rather old. 

It's been 20 years since they released the ridiculously well-known and pretty cheekily titled single 'O.P.P', and they followed form with 'Hip Hop Hooray', 'Feel Me Flow' and 'Uptown Anthem' rapidly gaining Billboard success and platinum discs. Three high school friends from East Orange in New York City, they've got that classic story of overcoming financial struggles and family issues, with Treach writing specifically about his life in 'Everything's Gonna be All Right' (1992).

Their music is representative of both side of rap music, with more serious social commentary material and the lighter, more commercial hits reflecting the vibe of a lot of East coast acts like Public Enemy, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. Despite East Coast hip-hop (apparently) being more popular in the 80s, Naughty By Nature overcame the West Coast 90s invasion with some vigour and won a Grammy in 1996 for album 'Poverty's Paradise' clearly putting the fight back in NYC.

They're back with a piece of totally new music, their first release in nine years, 20th Anniversary album 'Anthem Inc.' and they're hitting U.K shores to play The Warehouse Project on 8th October. Vin Rock and Kay Gee had a natter with us about their career, with a bit of politics, the wonderful Queen Latifah and some IP law thrown in...

So, you've been around over twenty years – how does it feel to be part of that elite set of musicians who are still cutting it these days?

Vin: After 20 years in the music industry, it feels great to have fans and peers alike call us "legends" and say we have classic music from a Golden Era of Hip Hop. We never expected to earn that level of respect.

Kay Gee: It’s great because we like what they are bringing to the game, but at the same time we know we can still compete with everyone out here.

What was it like being part of that late 80s/early 90s NYC crew, with Queen Latifah advising you on your career and such?

Vin: Growing up participating in Hip Hop in the 90s was a great time. Back then, it wasn't all about making money. It was about skill and love of the culture. Artists cared most about being unique and keeping competition on their toes. There were so many different styles and attitude artists brought to the table. Queen Latifah noticed how self contained and structured we were, so she and her partner Shakim decided to manage us. They definitely schooled us to the business side of the industry.

Kay Gee: We came out in 1991 so we're not part of the 80s crew, but we did learn everything we know from those guys in the 80s. Groups like RunDMC, BDP, Public Enemy, Salt n Pepa, The Fat Boys etc.

You found a perfect balance between having chart success, winning a Grammy, and still keeping the cool going... is that a hard thing to do when you're writing and making music to fit different ideals? Did it take a lot of thought and focus or did it all happen by chance?

Vin: I think maintaining a good balance when it comes to street or commercial music comes natural to Naughty. I feel all people experience different emotions in life. Naughty has been blessed to get accepted as a band who is able to create feel good party songs, laid back sexy songs and hardcore street songs. We don't let the industry dictate how we write. It's our job to share our feelings with our audience.

Kay Gee: We just did what we felt was our idea of hip hop from our point of view. We had no idea it would blow up or be big. We just did what felt good to us.

You've got a kind of social commentary to your songs, as a lot of hip-hop artists do. What inspires your writing these days, is it still the same things, or OPP… ?!

Vin: What inspires our writing today is our life experiences as well as our industry peers. We're competitors by nature so we keep our ears to the streets to know what's considered hot. A lot of ideas come from us constantly touring as well. Tons of inspiration comes from the road!

How do you feel about acts like Public Enemy using their music as a platform for political statements, is that an area you'd branch into writing about?

Vin: Public Enemy has always been a social conscious for Hip Hop. I believe it's a great thing and more artists should take some sort of political or social conscious stance. Through music, we must continue to inform and educate our audiences.

You've got all sorts of samples in your tracks from other hip-hop artists, reggae, soul singers etc - what's your favourite type of music/artist outside of the genre you write in?

Kay Gee: We like all kinds of music and grew up on all kinds as well so that allows our range and ear for music to be wide.

Your line-up hasn't changed at all over the years you've been together, disregarding a bit of a fall out in the middle – what's the secret to staying that way?

Vin: The secret to Naughty by Nature staying together is the fact that we've always been hands on with our assembly and development. Nobody put us together. We assembled in high school and always made collective decisions. We've evolved our individual talents and we respect each other's space.

Kay Gee: Most of all it's the fans... we set out from day one to do this together and we will finish it that way no matter what!

Your 20th Anniversary album 'Anthem Inc.' is out on 15th Nov, with Queen Latifah back in your musical lives. Tell us about making the album, and how did her involvement happen this time around?

Vin: " Anthem Inc" is our 20th Anniversary lp. It consists of a full 10 song lp as well as bonus remakes of classic Naughty tunes such as OPP, Hip Hop Hooray etc. Queen Latifah and her partner Shakim basically never stopped advising/consulting us. We're family so she never left our musical lives. We couldn't release our 20th Anniversary lp without collaborating with the Queen.

You're on a really great line-up at WHP, with old school DJs like Rodigan and Shy FX, break through artists and some great local talent hosting. What do you think of being a part of that?

Kay Gee: It's always great to be a part of events where guys show their true respect and love for HipHop… Great to be one of the few chosen!

Who are your favourite hip-hop / rap artists at the moment that people should be sitting up and taking notice of?

Vin: Basically, I like most of what's going on in Hip Hop right now. The artists who are getting mainstream exposure like Lil Wayne, Kanye, Drake, Nikki Minaj etc. are very talented. The problem is with radio's narrow playlist. More artists should get a chance on the radio. When you have the same five artists on air every day, it makes the music boring.

And you've got yourselves covered with legalities over samples and that these days, right?! [O.P.P ended up in a small dispute with Tony D about NbN stealing one of his samples, as happened a lot with sampling...]

Vin: All samples have been cleared and as a matter of fact, all of the new music on Anthem Inc is sample free!

Interview: Miz DeShannon

Catch Naughty by Nature at The Warehouse Project this Saturday. The event is totally sold out, but you can still buy tickets to the after party here. 

See all Warehouse Project events and buy tickets here. 

Tickets are no longer available for this event