Nappy Roots
Nappy Roots |
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Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap quintet that originated in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1995 and is best known for its hit single "Awnaw".
The group consists of Milledgeville, Georgia native Fish Scales and Kentucky natives Skinny DeVille, B. Stille, Ron Clutch, and Big V. Oakland, California native R. Prophet has recently left the group to pursue a solo career.[1]
Biography
Nappy Roots debut independent album Country Fried Cess was released in 1999, which led to the group being signed by Atlantic Records. Their first album on Atlantic was 2002's best selling hip-hop album, "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz". The multi-platinum album featured the hit-singles "Headz Up", "Awnaw", and "Po' Folks". The "Awnaw (Remix)" ft Marcos of P.O.D. appeared on Madden 2003.
Their next and last album with Atlantic Records was Wooden Leather, released in 2003, featuring the singles "Roun' the Globe" which was featured on Madden 2004 and "Sick and Tired" (featuring Anthony Hamilton). This critically acclaimed, major label follow up album, "Wooden Leather" featured production from Kanye West, David Banner and Lil Jon.
Since the release of Wooden Leather they are back to being independent artists, and have started their own label, N.R.E.G (Nappy Roots Entertainment Group) with distribution through Fontana/Universal Music Group. On July 31, 2007, they released their first album as independent artists, Innerstate Music featuring singles "Good Day" and "Keep It Real". This was actually an internet album, similar to a modern day mixtape. It was intended to be a precursor to their 2008 album, The Humdinger which was released on August 5, 2008.[2]
In 2008, the Nappy Roots returned to the spotlight with an internet campaign targeting the mega-popular hip-hop sites such as Allhiphop, HiphopDX, Sohh, 2dopeboyz, Dubcnn, XXL Mag and BallerStatus, etc.[3] The not so critically-acclaimed album, The Humdinger features guest appearances from Anthony Hamilton, Greg Nice, Greg Street and Slick & Rose, with production from Sol Messiah, Groove Chambers, Big Al, Joe Hop and more. The Humdinger entered the Billboard Rap Charts at #7 and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at #13.
Nappy Roots toured across the country on the "Pursuit of Nappyness" tour. Fish Scales, Skinny DeVille, Aron Luckett (from OKOLONA) and Big V began their Humdinger Winter Tour on January 14, 2009 in Chicago, IL.
In 2009, NREG released 40 Akerz from Fish Scales and Skinny DeVille as well as an independent project from Big V.
Nappy Roots kicked off 2010 with their highly anticipated new album, "Pursuit of Nappiness", released June 15, 2010. The album features songs produced by a quickly emerging production duo from Atlanta, GA by the name of Phivestarr Productions.[4]
Singles
Year | Song | Chart positions[5] | Album | ||||
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U.S. Hot 100 | Radio Songs | R&B/Hip-Hop | U.S. Rap | Pop Songs | |||
2002 | "Awnaw" (featuring Jazze Pha) | 51 | 51 | 18 | 15 | — | Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz |
"Po' Folks" (featuring Anthony Hamilton) | 21 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 25 | ||
"Headz Up" | — | — | 88 | — | — | ||
2003 | "Roun' The Globe" | 96 | — | 53 | 25 | — | Wooden Leather |
2008 | "Good Day" | — | — | 80 | — | — | The Humdinger |
2010 | "Ride" | — | — | — | — | — | The Pursuit of Nappyness |
Discography
Albums
Album information |
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Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz
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Wooden Leather
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The Humdinger
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The Pursuit of Nappyness
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Featured Tracks
Song | Artist | Album | Year | |
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"The Man In Me" | Chase Bean | Revelry | 2010 | |
"Anti-Depression" & "Good Die Young" | Jacob Izrael | The Glitch 2.0 | 2010 |
Mixtapes
Mixtape information |
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Country Fried Cess
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No Comb No Brush No Fade No Perm
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The Leak
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Nappy Roots Music Presents - The Kentucky Kolonels Vol. 1
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90 In The Slow Lane
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Innerstate Music
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Cookout Muzik
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Nappy University
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Nappy University Vol. 2: Fall Semester
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Awards and nominations
2002
- 2002 MTV Video Music Award nomination for the MTV2 Award for "Awnaw" - shared nomination with Jazze Pha[6]
2003
- 2003 American Music Award nominations for Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Hip-Hop/R&B and Favorite New Artist - Hip-Hop/R&B[7]
- 2003 Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Po' Folks" - shared nomination with Anthony Hamilton and Best Long Form Music Video for "The World According to Nappy" - shared nomination with Gloria Gabriel, director; David Anthony [8]
- 2003 Soul Train Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist for "Awnaw"[9]
Notes
- ^ VelocityWeekly.com, A little wiser and more financially savvy, Nappy Roots takes its career into its own hands Retrieved on March 9, 2008
- ^ HipHopdx.com, Where Have The Nappy Roots Been? Retrieved on May 4, 2008
- ^ 2dopeboyz.com, [1] Retrieved on Aug 4, 2008
- ^ http://2dopeboyz.com/2009/02/05/skinny-scales-nappy-roots-we-out-here/
- ^ Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Nappy Roots. Billboard. Accessed June 14, 2010.
- ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2002/mtvvmas.htm
- ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2003/amas.htm
- ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2003/grammys.htm
- ^ http://www.atlanticrecords.com/nappyroots/article/?article=15807