“Uptown Anthem”, one of the dopest Hip-hop tracks of the 90s, was another jewel in the crown of Ill beats and lyricism from New Jersey’s bad boys Naughty by Nature (@naughtybynature):
And dig this wild remix by New Jersey’s Mike Gip:
What you know about that Jersey Club music? No, seriously, if you don’t know, dig this info from RuntheTrap.com:
In essence, Jersey club and Bmore club/house are very similar; both are based on a 4/4 time signature* and tend to fall in the 130-140 BPM range making gratuitous use of short sample loops and shuffled triplet kick patterns to create a “bouncy” groove.
From 1989 when they formed, Naughty by Nature became a pivotal act in Hip-hop, with their infamous “O.P.P.” was at the time one of the most successful crossover tracks in the history of Rap. To this day, DJs will still drop this “O.P.P.” as well as “Hip Hop Hooray” at the party, not to mention countless other hits from the group including “Everything’s Gonna be All Right/Ghetto Bastard“, “Feel Me Flow“, “Jamboree“, and many more.
Some background from MusicianGuide:
Treach and Vinnie, born Anthony Criss and Vincent Brown, respectively, spent their 1970s childhoods only a few blocks away from one another. Both have credited much of their experience on the street to the difficulties of growing up in poor, single-parent homes. Treach’s mother had to work full-time, as a nurse, while she raised her two sons. Partly from her experience, Treach has become a strong proponent of birth control and support for the black family, often expressing his belief that his father’s absence contributed to his years on the street.
Although none of the three felt that East Orange High School had much to offer them, it was there that they began rapping. According to Vibe’ s Kevin Powell, “Treach knew he wanted to be a weaver of words–a rapper–since he was in the seventh grade.” Treach and Vinnie first collaborated in order to enliven a junior-year health class: whenever the class became unbearably dull, they would break into an improvised rap, Treach rapping and Vinnie providing the beat. Friend Kay Gee, who was a year ahead of Treach and Vinnie in school, in the meantime had been polishing his skills as a DJ. When the senior talent show came up, Kay Gee asked his “homeboys” to perform with him. They walked away with the adulation of their audience.
