Naughty By Nature celebrated their 25th Anniversary with Louisville on Sunday night at The Mercury Ballroom. It was a busy night for New Jersey natives in Louisville, as Bruce Springsteen was less than one mile away at the KFC Yum! Center. “We want to thank everyone who came out tonight. Our New Jersey homie Bruce Springsteen is in Louisville, too,” said Vin Rock.
DQ J from Old School 105.1 began the night on the turntables. The crowd illuminated when ‘I’m Bad’, ‘Sound of Da Police’, and classic Wu Tang played. One of the best things about attending old hip-hop shows is the music played by the DJs. Nothing beats 90's hip-hop.
It may be 25 years since Naughty By Nature released their self-titled, platinum album Naughty By Nature, but time has been good to the trio.
Here are 10 things I learned from the Naughty By Nature concert:
1. Generation X knows how to turn up on a Sunday night. The crowd was full of 80’s babies, but they know how to have a good time. And dance. Definitely dance.
2. Treach still has it. After showing a video of Eminem praising Treach and his ability to spit rhymes, Treach performed ‘Yoke The Joker’… and didn’t miss a beat.
3. Naughty By Nature doesn’t always play trap music. They showed a video from 2011 called ‘God Is Us’, featuring their mentor Queen Latifah. "You won’t hear it on the radio station, because it's not trap music,” said Vin Rock.
4. ‘O.P.P.’ never gets old. Treach and Vin Rock came on stage to this classic and IT. ROCKED. Such a timeless track.
5. DJ KAY GEE may be the next Spielberg. Vin Rock joked, but the video effects done by KAY GEE that played during the show were impressive. It displayed old photos and videos of the group throughout the performance.
6. Their performances are raw. "This is a real turntable. These are real mics. This isn't recorded or lip synced. This is raw hip-hop. 25 years in the making," Vin Rock said.
7. They show love to all of their albums. Treach and Vin Rock performed 'Everything's Gonna Be Alright', 'Guard Your Grill', and many other popular hits from their self-titled EP Naughty By Nature, while also performing popular songs from Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury, 19 Naughty III, and Poverty's Paradise, which won a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Rap Album.
8. Naughty by Nature has a sick posse. Nearly ten men and women stood behind the two men while they performed.
9. They have some of the best party anthems. Hip-Hop Hooray' live was like catching a time capsule back to the 1993. Definitely worth seeing them live.
10. It's been 25 years, but Naughty By Nature is still a top hip-hop contender. The songs were perpetual. The energy was incomparable. "It's Sunday. I know ya'll tired, but we’re 45 years old and we just banged out 23 concerts in 33 days," said Vin Rock.
