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 Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap sextet that originated in Kentucky in 1995 and is best
known for its hit 2002 single "Awnaw (ft. Jazze Pha)". The group consists of Milledgeville, Georgia native Fish Scales and
Kentucky natives Skinny DeVille, B. Stille, Ron Clutch, and Big V. Oakland. California native R. Prophet has recently left
the group to pursue a solo career.
"When you think of Nappy, you think raw and untamed," says Nappy Roots member Scales, explaining the
hip hop sextet's unique moniker. "But you also think pure and natural." "That's what we are," chimes in partner in rhyme,
Skinny DeVille. "Our name signifies our unwillingness to conform with fads. Once the fads die out, you always come back to
the roots."
While carving out their own unique niche, the group parlayed their hustling instincts into a number
of early entrepreneurial ventures - including the Nappy Roots T-shirts that quickly became the hottest-selling item on the
WKU campus. However, their biggest venture came via the local ET's Music record shop (with ET short for ER'Thangs Tight).
It was at ET's, which also doubled as a production studio, where the six would musically take shape with each Nappy Roots
member bringing their own distinct flavor to the mix.
Of course, the Nappy Roots creative formula has been paying
off for years now, giving rise to an underground following courted through tantalizingly belligerent flows, intuitive hood
analysis, and PA-melting beats. Created and sold at ET's, the Nappy Roots 1998 indie album, "COUNTRY FRIED CESS," flew off
the retail shelves from the word go. In fact, NR garnered such a tremendous buzz with the album that representatives from
Atlantic Records soon came a-knocking.
Even though they'll get their first chance to speak to the masses later
this year with their Atlantic Records debut, "WATAMELON, CHICKEN, AND GRITZ," donıt expect to see the men of Nappy Roots blinding
you with oversized ice anytime soon. As they're quick to point out, flossing is not their style. They're much happier with
the simple things in life. "Weıre trying to make people realize that itıs good to just be you," says Skinny DeVille, who,
along with his five other mic cohorts, rhymes about "ballin' on a budget." "That's essentially what Nappy Roots is about.
We're glamorizing being average."
In shying from narcissistic, flashy images, "WATAMELON, CHICKEN, AND GRITZ"
stands as the antithesis of the norm. "You ainıt gotta be country to understand it," says Big V. of the album's title and
overarching themes. "Our music is just like those foods - fresh of the earth, of the soul." Indeed, the Nappy collective s
serves up a hearty helping of soul food for thought with tracks like the pensively absorbing "Peanuts," a semi-autobiographical
account of the group's ongoing struggles. Over the splatter funk of the Groove Chambers produced "Peanuts," the listener is
hit straight up with introspective lines like "Ain't about thuggin'/it ain't about hustlin'/its about seeing your kids go
without strugglin'."
The Scales-composed "Life's a Risk" is equally as ruminating with such Skinny DeVille rhymes
as "On the verge of loosing my mind as well as my last nerve/I served my last dime standin' on this crack curb." In this way,
the group places you on the frontlines of a future fraught with uncertainty. With production contributions from the likes
of Carlos Broady and labelmate Jazze Pha, the album possesses an abundance of tracks sure to secure Nappy Roots among the
game's most contemplative thinkers as it also demonstrates their readiness to party crunk with the best of them - as they
reveal on the block rattling "N-A-P-P-Y."
However, proving their musical muscle is only part of the challenge
for Nappy Roots - there's also the responsibility of holding it down for their often over-looked hometurf. "It's like a plant,"
says Big V. "If thereıs no light to shine on Kentucky, it won't grow." "We do have a burden on our shoulders because a lot
is riding on the success of Nappy Roots," adds Ron Clutch. "But we're not worried. Our music speaks for itself."
UPDATE:
NAPPY ROOTS RELEASED 2ND SINGLE "DOWN 'N OUT" FT. ANTHONY HAMILTON
Nappy
Roots ft. Anthony Hamilton - Down 'N Out
www.zshare.net/audio/62478351ae4a3def
We don't know if the
phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" has its origins in Kentucky, but what we do know is that rap superstars Nappy
Roots apply it regularly. It was a little known group of rappers from Kentucky and a rough around the edges crooner
from North Carolina who took the rap game by storm in 2002 when Nappy teamed up with now R&B superstar
Anthony Hamilton to introduce the world to hip-hop from a Nappy perspective. That song,
"Po' Folks" went on to become a smash hit and delivered Nappy Roots a platinum album for their freshman endeavour,
the highly acclaimed "Watermelon, Chicken, and Grits" which also garnered the gang a pair of Grammy nominations.
What better way to follow
up a smash hit than with another smash hit. "After seeing the response we got from the world, and the way our fans were able
to relate to 'Po' Folks', it only made sense to reconnect with A. Ham for 'Sick 'N Tired'," says Skinny Deville, the self
proclaimed Blues Traveler and Captain of the Nappy movement. Once again, the formula worked and Nappy
Roots and Anthony Hamilton earned a gold album with "Wooden Leather", Nappy Roots'
second and final album on Atlantic Records.
Fast forward 5 years...
a new album, a new label, and a new sense of connection to their millions of fans, the Kentucky quintet returns with "The
Humdinger", released on their own imprint Nappy Roots Entertainment Group, distributed by Fontana/Universal
Music Group. Despite all that is new, there remains one constant, Anthony Hamilton returns to the fold once
more to round out the collaborative trilogy with Nappy's second single "Down 'N Out".
Official Website:
www.nappyroots.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/nappyroots
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/nappyrootstv
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/nappyroots
 
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