Of all the rap acts of the ’90s that just never received their due, Naughty By Nature may be one of the most criminally overlooked. The New Jersey rap trio pioneered the rapid-fire, multisyllabic rap style beloved of successors like Eminem (who calls group member Treach one of his favorite rappers of all time) and contributed huge hits “Hip Hop Hooray” and “O.P.P.” to the party rap canon. Yet the group never seems to receive quite as much love as they arguably deserve — that is, until now.
Nigerian artist Burna Boy released his new album, Twice As Tall, today and the tracklist contains some surprising additions. On a song named for the Jersey rap trio, Burna reunites the group after they went through a contentious breakup in the early 2010s. In 2015, the group had a reconciliation of sorts, but declared their relationship to be “strictly business.” Burna Boy’s “Naughty By Nature” is the group’s first new music together since their 20th anniversary on 2011’s Anthem Inc. Despite being co-produced by Mario Winans and Diddy (!), the Telz-produced track features Burna’s usual colorful Afrobeats influences with a signature set of verses from Treach and Vin Rock.
In an interview with Apple Music, Burna said he wanted to reunite the group because, “Growing up they were definitely one of my favorite groups and I literally grew up listening to these man, so it might sound crazy or impossible to have them on my album all this time later, but I swear to you: Nothing is really impossible. Even right now with all of this COVID stuff going, there’s a way. If you really wanna make something happen, then there’s always a way to it. Trust me, it’s not impossible.”
Twice As Tall also features guest appearances from Chris Martin of Coldplay, Sauti Sol, Stormzy, and Youssou N’Dour. It’s out now via Atlantic Records. You can stream or download it here.
Listen to “Naughty By Nature” above.
Burna Boy is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.