Years active 1994 – present Past members R. ProphetBig V | Website NappyRoots.com | |
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Born October 10, 1965Augusta, Georgia, U.S. ( 1965-10-10 ) Labels AtlanticNappy Roots Entertainment GroupFontana DistributionAVJ Records Members Skinny DeVille, B. Stille, Ron Clutch, Fish Scales, Ryan Anthony, Big V Profiles | ||
Nappy roots current state of hip hop and advice to young artists 247hh exclusive
Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap quartet that originated in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1995. They are best known for their hit singles "Po' Folks", "Awnaw", "Roun' The Globe" and "Good Day". They were the best selling hip hop group of 2002. The group consists of Milledgeville, Georgia native Fish Scales and Kentucky natives Skinny DeVille, B. Stille and Ron Clutch.
Contents
- Nappy roots current state of hip hop and advice to young artists 247hh exclusive
- Nappy roots share the secrets to independent hip hop success
- Biography
- 2002
- 2003
- 2008
- 2011
- Songs
- References
In 2006, Oakland, California native R. Prophet left the group, and in 2012 Kentucky native Big V (a.k.a. Vito Banga) also left. Both former members are pursuing solo careers.
Nappy roots share the secrets to independent hip hop success
Biography
The group formed when the members were students at Western Kentucky University. Nappy Roots' debut independent album Country Fried Cess was released in 1998, which led to the group being signed by Atlantic Records. Their first album on Atlantic Records 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)" featuring Marcos of P.O.D. appeared on Madden 2003. In their home state, Paul E. Patton the governor of Kentucky, sanctioned September 16 as "Nappy Roots Day".
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). Wooden Leather featured production from Kanye West, David Banner and Lil Jon and received critical acclaim. After Wooden Leather, the group was featured in two movie soundtracks. The first was 2003's Daredevil (starring Ben Affleck) with the song "Right Now" that featured Marcos Curiel of P.O.D. and was released on Windup Records. In 2004, they were also featured on three songs for the soundtrack to the Tom Hanks film The Ladykillers, released on Sony Music.
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.
In 2007 Nappy Roots was featured on the original version of the Tantric song titled "Fall Down". The song was originally intended for Tantric's album Tantric III, but due to it being shelved the song went unreleased. However, Tantric did rerecord the song and put it on their 2008 album The End Begins. The version featuring Nappy Roots can only be found on YouTube.
Their critically acclaimed album, The Humdinger, features guest appearances from Anthony Hamilton, Greg Nice, Greg Street and Slick & Rose, with production from Sol Messiah, James "Groove" Chambers, BIG AL 360, Joe Hop and more. The Humdinger entered the Billboard Rap Charts at #7 and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at #13.
In 2009 the single "We're Gonna Make it" by Skinny and Scales was released through Nappy Roots Entertainment Group.
Nappy Roots kicked off 2010 with "The Pursuit of Nappyness", released June 15. The album features songs by Phivestarr Productions, a production duo from Atlanta, GA.
In 2011, Nappy teamed up with hip hop producers Organized Noize to create "Nappy Dot Org". The first single, "Congratulations", made its way into cyberspace on July 13, 2011 by way of XXL Magazine and 2DopeBoyz. On October 11, 2011 Nappy Roots released their new album "Nappy Dot Org" that was entirely produced by Organized Noize.
The "Nappy Roots Presents Sh!ts Beautiful" album/mixtape that was released on June 27, 2012 through AllHipHop.
In 2015, Nappy Roots released their newest album, "The 40 Akerz Project".
2002
2003
2008
2011
Songs
AwnawWatermelon - Chicken & Gritz · 2002
Po' FolksWatermelon - Chicken & Gritz · 2002
Country BoyzWatermelon - Chicken & Gritz · 2002