ALBUM REVIEW: Nappy Roots - Nappy Dot Org

Since its emergence in the 1990s, Southern rap music has always suffered from a dual identity.  Much of the early Southern rap that gained any nationwide notoriety could be classified as “strip club music.”  Miami-based group 2 Live Crew was one of the first groups, and they eventually went on to become not only platinum-selling artists but also important figures in 1^st Amendment rights and copyright infringement.  Other groups such as 95 South, Splack Pack, and Tag Team were also prominent during that time and had a similar style of music.  The best way to describe it would be this:  heavy bass, high rpm, simple lyrics, and absolutely NO diversity of content beyond partying and beautiful women.   At the time, the audience did not really care, for fans could get their lyrical fix from artists outside of the South.  Artists from the East and the West coast were releasing quality music back then that wet whatever appetite you had for rap beyond some of the simple motifs that Southern rap had.  Southern rap served its purpose – to get the party going and get the asses shaking.  For the most part, it stayed local, and no one expected anything more.

However, there was something brewing in Southern rap that signaled a change in the South’s place in hip hop.  Groups like the Geto Boys, OutKast, Goodie Mob, UGK, and Eightball and MJG began to express more about their region and their distinct perspective on the world and life that only young black Americans from the South could illustrate.  Furthermore, many of the groups put forth a more positive, socially conscious message to the audience to hopefully deter listeners to take the wrong route that could end in their destruction or disfranchisement.   In conveying this message, these artists never disavowed their Southern heritage or the booty shake music that was just as much a part of the Southern rap scene as their sound.  Despite this, many critics, especially from New York, dismissed Southern rap as not being “real hip hop” because it did not sound like New York rap or rap from California.   It was dumb because if they had tried to mock New York’s style, then many Southern rappers would have been ridiculed for being biters (Wu-Tang’s Ghostfase Killah and Raekwon made it a job calling out other rappers who blatantly borrow styles from others).  Either way, the South pushed on and carved its place in hip hop.  By the beginning of the 21^st Century, many of the socially conscious emcees were going through creative differences and struggles.  Many began associating Southern rap with the obsession with self-indulgence that Master P and Cash Money embraced (you could argue that it was New York artists that popularized the trend, though).  While Southern folks respected any artist coming out of the South, many, like me, wondered if there would ever be a new artist to pick up where groups like Outkast and Goodie Mob left off in bringing soul music that was inspiring, insightful, and enjoyable at the same time.

Enter Nappy Roots, who hit the music scene with their 2002 debut album Watermelon, Chicken, and Grits.  Besides bringing to the masses the hit songs “Awnaw,” “Po’ Folks,” and “Headz Up,” the group brought an aspect to Southern rap that had been missing: catchy and entertaining music that maintained a sense of wit, creativity, insight, humor, and social consciousness.  Nappy Roots became that group that you would point to when some self-righteous New York rap fan would say “all Southern rap is wack.”  I would put on some Nappy Roots and show them what’s up, which was also the same way I used OutKast.  Along with the Nappy Roots putting their home state of Kentucky on the hip hop map, their debut album was a comforting contrast to the obligatory party music coming out of hip hop, which was cool, but always put in your face too much.  Their arrival was welcome, for some of the other Southern legends were going through creative difficulties.  Nappy Roots were able to keep it alive, giving some of the pioneers some time to get back on track.

After the release of the critically acclaimed sophomore album Wooden Leather in 2003, them Nappy boys made the surprising move of leaving Atlantic Records to go independent.  It came as a shock being that their first two albums went platinum and gold, and Atlantic would not have an immediate reason to drop them.  The understanding was that the group wanted to have more control over their career and had solidified their fan base enough to feel comfortable working without a major label.  I definitely admire them for their ambition, but at the time it seemed that they were taking their foot off the accelerator in the middle of a drag race.   With the momentum and popularity gained from their first two albums, leaving Atlantic Records would diminish their distribution and marketability.  Because fanbases are so fickle, it would have been easy for Nappy Roots to be forgotten, and they were forgotten to an extent since five quiet years passed before we received a new album.  To compound on this development, member R. Prophet left the group to pursue a solo career, taking away a distinctive voice and talented piece from the group.

However, 2008’s The Humdinger ended up being a triumph for them.  So what if it did not go multiplatinum?  By that time, barely any artist was going platinum no matter what genre it was.  Nappy Roots country vibe and humble-but-catchy tones radiated through the album as much as it ever had.  In fact, the whole crew of Big V, Fish Scales, B. Stille, Ron Clutch, and Skinny DeVille sounded more confident than they had ever been previously.  The absence of R. Prophet was like eating Publix hot and spicy wings without hot sauce – the hot sauce makes them good, but they are just as good without it.  The next album, 2010’s The Pursuit of Nappyness continued this trend and further solidified their fan base.  It seemed that Nappy was just content with doing the independent thing, and it was not going to stop them from making great music.

With 2011’s Nappy Dot Org, the group embarked on their most ambitious album to date.  How is this one different?  This time, they decided to have only one producer for the entire album: the legendary team known as Organized Noize.  Responsible for some of the biggest hits for TLC and Ludacris, Organized Noize are the architects behind the Dungeon Family and best known for having crafted the early masterpieces from OutKast and Goodie Mob.  It seems natural that Organized Noize and Nappy Roots would come together and make music.  Having one producer produce the entire album can be risky, though.  Sometimes a whole album from one producer can lead to repetitiveness in beats, making the album drag at points.  It is especially dangerous for lengthy albums.  Fortunately, Nappy limited this album to only 11 tracks, which SHOULD keep the album concise with more quality than filler.  Nevertheless, with two talented entities coming together like this, can they live up to the expectations that a collaboration of this magnitude might have?  Well, let’s see…

The album kicks off with “The Legend Lives On” featuring an introductory spoken word piece from longtime DF member Big Rube.  He always comes correct with his verses, and this one serves as a passing-of-the-torch moment for the Dungeon Family and Nappy Roots.  It is fitting and well deserved because I do not think there are many other artists worthy of the honor.  The steady horn loop and background guitar come in at the right time and when Big V comes in with his verse, you feel right at home.  Everybody comes correct from Nappy Roots, and the album starts off nicely.

“Country Boy Return” takes the album down a notch, though.  The beat is not that inspired and neither is Nappy.  It is far from a bad song; it is merely OK.  If I was relaxing and was not in a hurry, I would listen to it.  Otherwise, it would be a skip.

“Easy Money” picks the album back up, and it turns out to be one of the highlights.  Organized Noize speed things up beat-wise, even though there is not much variation in the instruments.  The organs and the drums still fit the track like a glove, and the vocal effect on the hook compliments the track very well.  The title of the track is delightfully deceptive.  One might think that they are talking about making money without doing traditional work (usually illegal).  Instead, Nappy Roots is embracing the idea of the freedom and satisfaction of doing what you love as your career.  According to Skinny Deville,  “If you do it for the love, that’s Easy Money/ might mean a little better if you believe in something.”  Doing what you love is not always easy, but the feeling of doing it makes whatever money you make from it “easy.”  It is a good message not heard very often, and it is nice to hear.

The lead single “Hey Love” comes next, where the members speak about ending their relationships with women who are not good for them.  It is a nice song, but I feel that “Easy Money” would have been a better choice as a single.   Lyrically, Nappy Roots does not disappoint as usual:

[B-Stille]

They say it's cheaper to keep her
But if you gotta beat her you don't need her
I love her but I have to leave her
Or else I probably end up on Cheaters
Caught red handed like I'm eating hot Cheetoos
Best believe I'm going out like a G though, widda bang!
See we had a problem everyday like a Tyler Perry play
Never really had all our bases covered
Like a brand new home with the basement flooded
And we have no coverage so we packed our luggage
And we went where the wind blew each one of us

Essentially, the hook from Sam Christian is the main hiccup, for it is not strong enough to support the song.  It sounds like Sleepy Brown should have been on it but somehow was not available for this album.  It is a shame because he would have been a nice inclusion as a cameo from the Dungeon Family.

Fortunately, another longtime member of DF, Khujo Goodie of the Goodie Mob, comes through with the next single “Pete Rose,” another highlight of the album.  The beat is minimized to have only the drums and a keyboard effect, but Organized Noize hits all of the right notes with this one.  Nappy keeps things interesting themselves as they go back and forth with each other talking about racism and social injustice.  Why “Pete Rose?”  If you are not familiar, Pete Rose is the infamous baseball player who Major League Baseball banned from the sport for life for betting on baseball games, specifically the games for his own team.  Even though he was very aware of the consequences of his actions, he went forward with the betting scheme, denied his involvement for over a decade, and then admitted his guilt around the time he was releasing a book about his life.  Nappy Roots seems to flip it and say that the only way to make it in this corrupt society is to go all out despite the consequences. No matter what they mean, the song is bangin.’   Take a look yourself and make your own interpretation:

[Ron Clutch]

My homie just got out my cousin going back in
Three quarters of my neighborhood still packed in a pin
I swear the justice is some set up to target black man
This ain't no new phenomena been going on since back then

[B. Stille]
Back in Louisville the plot thickens
Homicide, lookin for leads the clocks tickin
Shoot the block down, the cops trippin
Community motto is stop snitchin
Pissed off they beat a child up for shop lifting

[Hook: Khujo Goodie]
Where the scene unfolds,
Concrete, Streets, Dirt Roads,

Young Bloods, G's, Street Codes,

Bank Rolls, Cheese, Pete Rose

Get Yours

[Fish Scales]

I don't roll blunts and I don't do paper
I'm in the corner to myself getting straight vapored
I'm from the boondocks AKA boonies hoe
Poe folks still ball like a snooty hoe

[Big V]
Batter, Batter, Swing, Barry Bonds
Steroid or not he still had to hit the ball
Dreadlocks don't mean what they used to mean
Now they jammin’ Lil Wayne, tryna kill a man

[Skinny DeVille]
Yeah I'm on my Pete Rose bet it on it make a killin
Before I lay my head down I'm tryin to get a billion
I used to do it for the love I kind of lost the feeling
Fuck a record deal, middle finger towards the ceiling

This review is getting a little long (and I’m getting tired), so let me sum up the rest of the album: it is good.  The bouncy and inspiring vibe of “Good and Evil” and the haunting organs of “Karma” continue the slew of solid material from Nappy and ONP.  The song “Y’all Party” is Nappy Roots’ routine club track on this album, which gets better on repeated listens but the disappointing hook takes it down a notch.   However, tracks like “Give Me A Sign” and “Congratulations” easily make up for it, as they are examples of what you would expect between the two groups on their best days.  The final highlight of the album would be “Nappy U Here,” which is probably my favorite track on the album.  Organized Noize really come correct on this track, starting off with a violin intro and falling into an intoxicating backdrop that locks you in until the song ends.  While the hook, or really the delivery of the hook, is simple, it works extremely well and reflects the modesty that Nappy has always displayed in their music.  All the guys had to do was spit some words, but of course they bring a little extra.  Although they all drop good verses, Ron Clutch stands out on this track:

I remember like yesterday, barely had a pot to piss
Just a watermelon, piece of chicken and a pot of grits
On top of this, cheap whiskey, whatever got us bent
Looking back on it all seemed so innocent
The O.G.’s told me to cherish these good old days
So they know they was dropping jewels by the look on they face
Looking like they give everything, he could have took my place
Took a last look to his whiskey, took it to the face
Don’t wanna be that cat with dreams he should have chase
So what good is the trap if cats can't escape?
Life's a book written in ink that you can't erase
Lord don't let this all be a beautiful waste

By the end of this album, you will conclude that the collaboration was a success.  Nappy Roots and Organized Noize brought us an album worthy of both of their catalogues.  The only thing that I wished the album had was more appearances from the Dungeon Family, but Nappy Roots has never been big on guest appearances anyway.  The thing that always attracted me to Dungeon Family and Nappy Roots was their courage to try to speak from a perspective to which we can relate.  The frustrating aspect of hip hop these days is the habit of propping yourself up so much that the average joe cannot relate to your experiences.  The same rhetoric of “I’m so rich that you cannot see me” or “I’m so gangsta you cannot be me” gets old, and most people know that what they say is bullshit.  Rappers have always used their gift of gab to get them where they wanna be and have inspired others to strive for the ceiling.  There is nothing wrong with that.  People forget, though, that the difference between a good song and a timeless song is the ability to feel that artist and relate to their words.  You cannot relate to everything that people go through, but if you make an attempt to relate that to others, you will likely be surprised by how people will respond.  Nappy Roots is one of the few groups that believe in this and has made it part of their legacy.  Maybe they will get back to their mainstream prominence one day, but until then, I recommend that you support them and cop this album.  You will be nappy that you did.