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Naughty By Nature music biography continued...

while all three members -- MCs Treach (born Anthony Criss) and Vinnie (born Vincent Brown), and DJ Kay Gee (born Keir Gist) -- were attending the same high school. The group independently released an album in 1989, which caught them the attention of fellow New Jersey native Queen Latifah, who signed on to manage the group, and got them a record deal with Tommy Boy Records. Their first hit off the label was a track called "O.P.P.", which sampled the Jackson 5's hit "ABC" and was released in 1991 on their self-titled album Naughty by Nature. The song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the most successful rap songs in history to that point in terms of crossover success on the pop charts. The song also became well known in pop culture, earning numerous mentions on hit television series and critical acclaim from music rags like The Source and Spin magazine, which ranked it the 20th best single of the 90s. Powered by "O.P.P." and another hit single, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright," Naughty's debut album went platinum. They had multiple hits from their third and fourth albums, called 19 Naughty III and Poverty's Paradise respectively. Both albums reached the #1 spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop Charts, while Poverty's Paradise won the 1996 Grammy award for Best Rap Album. With this accolade, Naughty by Nature could truly say that had landed on top of both the rap and pop worlds.



In 1999 the group released their fifth album, titled Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury. The album was fairly successful, was certified gold and spawned the hit "Jamboree," which peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. After this album's release a dispute regarding finances developed between Kay Gee and Treach, which resulted in the break up of the group. However, in May 2006 Kay Gee reunited with Treach and rejoined Naughty by Nature at a concert at B.B. King's nightclub. Signaling their willingness to record again, the group made longtime fans ecstatic.