Naughty By Nature Poverty's Paradise CD

Principally recorded at Marion Recording, Soundtrack & Battery Studios.

POVERTY'S PARADISE won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. "Feel Me Flow" was nominated for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group.

Inevitably after two stellar albums, Naughty by Nature would have to stumble, and they did with 1995's misstep, POVERTY'S PARADISE. That said, the album did manage to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album of the year. Still, POVERTY'S PARADISE is a bit of a retread of ground that the group had expertly canvassed on their earlier albums. The album doesn't contain an "O.P.P." or "Hip Hop Hooray." They tried with "Clap Yo Hands" but the song falls flat - "Feel Me Flow" is catchier, though hardly memorable if you know what they're capable of. As harder gangsta rap was moving to the forefront at the time, the sometimes frivolous production seemed anachronistic in the time of Biggie and Tupac. Though they never lacked in street cred, it is in the moments where Naughty by Nature tries to keep with the times that they seem the most like relics from a simpler, earlier era--only a few years, but in hip hop's relative infancy, a generation.

Producers: Naughty By Nature, Minnesota, Al Mal, Brice, Mufi, Kid Nyce.

Engineers include: Angela Piva, Dave Bellochio, Mike Pisano.

Personnel: Naughty by Nature (vocals); Jaz Jackson, Angela Piva, Chaz Harper (vocals); David Bellochio, Kay Gee (keyboards).

Audio Mixers: Kay Gee; Angela Piva.

Recording information: Battery Studios; Marion Recording; SoundTrack.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Cruddy Click & Black; Road Dawgs.

Naughty By Nature: Treach, Vinny (vocals); Kay Gee (vocals, keyboards).

Additional personnel: Jaz Jackson, Chaz Harper, Angela Piva (vocals); Dave Bellochio (keyboards); Jack Davey (bass).

Rolling Stone (6/15/95, p.80) - 3 Stars - Good - "...POVERTY'S PARADISE, [Naughty By Nature's] third album, is divided up like their previous efforts--a few party-starting tracks, some social commentary and a barrage of lyrical fury....their sheer funkability is undeniable..."
Entertainment Weekly (5/19/95, p.62) - "...Dominated by rollicking bass lines, chant-along choruses, and the catchy, tight rhyme schemes that are Naughty's trademark, POVERTY is tailor-made for low driving on the beach..." - Rating: A
Q (12/03, p.155) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...The tracks' increased variety ensures against any danger of hardcore hip hop fatigue..."
Vibe (4/95, pp.91-92) - "...Treach doesn't preach [or] teach; instead he seems to learn alongside his listeners....[he] manages to sound angry, confused, proud, and glorious--no mean feat in the emotionally arrested world of rap....NBN sound like a group of artists desperate not to repeat themselves, and finding muscles even they didn't know existed..."
The Source (5/95, p.65) - 4 Mics - Slammin' - "...The terrific trio is back, hitting you hard and repeatedly about the head with their familiar (Kay) Gee-Funk....Naughty manages to deliver a virtual cornucopia of sensations throughout their third musical installment....Treach at his best with his sing-song interlocking rhymes..."