IIcons [Clean] [Edited]

Performer: Naughty by Nature
Artist: 3LW; Road Dawgs; Redman; Method Man; Pink; Rottin Razkals; Carl Thomas; Road Dawgz; Queen Latifah; Icarus & Bumpy Knuckles; Chyna Whyte; Lil Jon
Engineer: Dwayne Sumal; Angelo Quaglia; Dejuana Richardson; Eric Steinen
Distributor: TVT Records (Dist.)

Notes: Naughty By Nature: Treach, Vinnie Brown. Additional personnel includes: 3LW, Road Dawgs, Redman, Method Man, Pink, Rottin Razkals, Carl Thomas. Producers include: Allstar, Griffin, WOK, DJ Twinz, Naughty By Nature: Treach, Vinnie Brown. Additional personnel includes: 3LW, Road Dawgs, Redman, Method Man, Pink, Rottin Razkals, Carl Thomas. Producers include: Allstar, Griffin, WOK, DJ Twinz. Personnel: Rob McDowell (guitar, keyboards). Audio Mixers: Dwayne Sumal; Vinnie Brown; Jan Nerud; Andy Blakelock; All-Star. Recording information: Battery Studios, NY; D&D Studios, NY; Head Up Recording, Oakland, NJ; Hit Factory, Miami, FL; Larrabee West, CA; Millennium Studios, NJ; Quad Recordings, NY; sony Studios, NY. Against all odds, that salacious crew that declared itself "Down with O.P.P." back in the '80s managed to survive the ups and downs of the mercurial hip-hop world and make it into the 21st century. For those who only know Vinnie and Treach by that aforementioned Jacksons-sampling hit, IICONS may come as a bit of a revelation. While NBN still has the wild thing on its collective mind (as exemplified most effectively by "What You Wanna Do," to which Pink adds some sensuous crooning), there's more than unfettered carnality at work here. From the complex imagery and polysyllabic rhyming of the opening title cut to the cutting sociological critique of "Let Me Find Out," Naughty By Nature displays an impressive lyrical facility for themes that reach beyond the call of booty. Incendiary guest shots from Redman, Method Man, Queen Latifah, and others help spice things up, making IICONS an impressive offering from these rap veterans. Against all odds, that salacious crew that declared itself "Down with O.P.P." back in the '80s managed to survive the ups and downs of the mercurial hip-hop world and make it into the 21st century. For those who only know Vinnie and Treach by that aforementioned Jacksons-sampling hit, IICONS may come as a bit of a revelation. While NBN still has the wild thing on its collective mind (as exemplified most effectively by "What You Wanna Do," to which Pink adds some sensuous crooning), there's more than unfettered carnality at work here. From the complex imagery and polysyllabic rhyming of the opening title cut to the cutting sociological critique of "Let Me Find Out," Naughty By Nature displays an impressive lyrical facility for themes that reach beyond the call of booty. Incendiary guest shots from Redman, Method Man, Queen Latifah, and others help spice things up, making IICONS an impressive offering from these rap veterans. Hip-hop does not look kindly on its veteran artists apart from anything other than lip service -- names are dropped all the time, but it's hard to sustain a career into a second decade for many rappers. Naughty by Nature acknowledge that situation with a wink on their fifth album, titling it Iicons and offering a definition of the word on the cover, thereby setting themselves up as icons, as titans of their genre. Which, in many ways, they are, as this rock-solid record proves. They might never have been innovators on the level of Public Enemy or Ice Cube, but they were always strong, forceful MCs and good songwriters who made strong records. Iicons is firmly within that tradition. There are a few things that make it feel modern -- some guest MC appearance, a production that is on the whole kind of spare, a stellar duet with Pink -- but the overall aesthetic is from the early '90s, when the group was at their popular peak. This doesn't mean it sounds outdated; it means that the group still crafts dynamic, varied albums, where the singles aren't the only songs that are memorable. Sure, it's a bit traditionalist, but in the best possible sense -- it keeps what's best about the form, giving the album a strong foundation, and builds on it, resulting a record that feels fresh and classic and thereby proving that it is possible to sustain a career in hip-hop without a loss of musical quality. Maybe these guys deserve to be called icons after all. [The clean version censors all moments of profanity.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone (6/6/02, p.76) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...These versatile pros are in fine form....Treach and Vinnie come correct...in true Naughty fashion..." Rolling Stone (6/6/02, p.76) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...These versatile pros are in fine form....Treach and Vinnie come correct...in true Naughty fashion..." Vibe (June 2002, p.154) - 2.5 out of 5 - "...Naughty By Nature can still create anthems with a shelf life....they return...enough to their signature blend of beguiling beats and tongue-in-cheek insights..." Vibe (6/02, p.154) - 2.5 out of 5 - "...Naughty By Nature can still create anthems with a shelf life....they return...enough to their signature blend of beguiling beats and tongue-in-cheek insights..."

Proteges of Queen Latifah, the New Jersey rap trio Naughty By Nature ruled the air waves for a large part of the early 1990s, thanks to a string of undeniable hip-hop anthems--including "Hip Hop Hooray," "Feel Me Flow," and the infidelity ode "O.P.P."--that mixed a hardcore sensibility with mainstream pop accessibility. Although they continued to release strong material, the group's success began to wane by the late '90s, and the individual members began pursuing other projects. Nonetheless, Naughty By Nature's key singles remain indisputable classics.

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