Vincent “Vin Rock” Brown and Keir Lamont Gist—recognized professionally as DJ KayGee—are two of probably the most recognizable names in hip-hop. Together with founding Naughty By Nature group member Anthony Criss aka “Treach,” the rappers are considered legends within the hip-hop neighborhood—a job they hope to proceed by each creating new music and paying it ahead to the subsequent era of artists.
Vin and KayGee have now fashioned one other group known as Illtown Sluggaz, one which can function DJ and Producer Slugga—a bear and mascot within the vein of a deadmau5 character. The Sluggaz are half group, half file label and half artist administration improvement platform, with new music to be launched and a brand new Slugga Music Live performance Sequence kicking off March twenty fifth at The Wellmont Theater in New Jersey. The live performance sequence goals to offer up-and-coming artists an opportunity to share the stage with veteran performers in a method to assist them develop organically.
After we join over Zoom, Vin and KayGee are keen to debate their nearly 40 years of music business expertise, celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of their 19 Naughty III album and smash hit “Hip Hop Hooray,” the position of hashish of their artistic course of, and the way they used hate from the “sleepers” to gas their embellished profession in music.
Excessive Occasions: Rising up in New Jersey, was music all the time the trail?
DJ KayGee: Rising up, it was actually the early days of hip-hop and the tradition. Simply seeing all people round the best way, listening to the music, seeing the graffiti—all of the issues related to the scene. After which lastly, for me, it was seeing the film Wild Fashion. That’s what actually made me say, “Oh, I wish to attempt to get into that tradition.”
Excessive Occasions: What concerning the film particularly did it for you?
DJ KayGee: It was Grandmaster Flash DJing on the turntables in there. Once I noticed that within the film, I mentioned, “I’ve to strive that.”
Vin Rock: For me, I’m the youngest of seven—5 sisters, one brother—and my brother used to play the drums the entire time. He’d play Warmth Wave, Kool & The Gang, Con Funk Shun on the file participant after which would try to drum precisely how the drummers had been drumming on the information. He’d get annoyed and kick and throw his drums all over as a result of he couldn’t get it precisely proper.
Quick ahead to the Gladys Knight & the Pips music video “Save the Extra time (For Me).” I imagine they’d the New York Metropolis Breakers in there and I noticed the man do the backspin and was like, “Oh my goodness, that’s unimaginable.” I had a man—Mark Younger, we known as him ‘Loco’—who lived on my block and all the time used to pay attention or have entry to the underground mixtapes and “battle” tapes of all of the dwell hip-hop performances that had been in New York Metropolis.
I bear in mind listening to Doug E. Contemporary beatboxing and sounding like he had rocks in his mouth. I used to be like, “Wow, that stuff sounds loopy. How does he do this?” I spent a superb a part of my youth making an attempt to get that Doug E. Contemporary sound in my mouth—till I lastly bought it. That’s what did it for me.
Excessive Occasions: As soon as your curiosity in music was established, how did Naughty By Nature’s formation take form?
Vin Rock: All three of us [Vin, KayGee, and Treach] had been from the identical hometown of East Orange, New Jersey, although KayGee and I lived nearer collectively. I lived on fifteenth Avenue, he lived on 18th Avenue. So in the event you did the mathematics, we had been three blocks away from one another, and Treach lived throughout the best way.
There was a practice monitor and also you needed to go below the trestle, and there have been housing initiatives Little Metropolis and Kuzuri. Treach lived over on that facet. Kay and I all the time knew one another and I used to breakdance along with his neighbor—a man named Terry Peppers—who lived straight throughout the road from Kay. So I used to be a breakdancer and beatboxer, and after I completed breakdancing with Terry, I’d hear Kay DJing on his solar porch. I’d go throughout the road to Kay, beatbox for him whereas he DJd.
KayGee is a 12 months older than Treach and I and he was a senior in highschool and wished to take part in his senior expertise present. We wanted an MC, so I instructed Kay there’s this man in my well being class who all the time rhymes to me. Each different day he’s coming with one other rhyme whereas I beatbox—and that was Treach. I introduced him over to Kay and we sort of fashioned the group from there.
At that first expertise present, we didn’t actually have a identify for the group, we had been simply doing a routine. At first of the routine, Kay scratched in a Beastie Boys “It’s the brand new model” lyric, and after the present—the present went nicely—we recapped the way it was an amazing present and the way the intro actually labored. We had been like, “Why don’t we name ourselves The New Fashion?” That’s after we first actually gelled as our first group being The New Fashion.
Excessive Occasions: What was the primary inclination the place you felt the group may truly be one thing?
DJ KayGee: After we had the preliminary efficiency for the senior expertise present, we began doing native expertise reveals and golf equipment and we began profitable them. As we had been profitable the expertise reveals—initially they’d it the place the gang would choose them—they modified the principles as a result of we stored profitable and profitable. Different folks and different artists began complaining that New Fashion comes with their built-in viewers, that’s why they’re profitable. They’re coming with their blocks. So, they began bringing in celebrities and different totally different folks to evaluate the reveals as an alternative of the gang, and that’s truly after we first met Biz Markie, Cool V and guys like The 45 King and Taste Unit. As soon as we began profitable these expertise reveals, we felt like we had one thing.
Excessive Occasions: And it sounds just like the expertise reveals additionally introduced you onto the scene the place you had been capable of meet your contemporaries like Biz.
DJ KayGee: They usually’re beginning to see us and be like, “Wow, these guys are good.”
Vin Rock: It was a course of as a result of we weren’t recording at that second, we had been simply dwell performers. We knew we had a bunch and we noticed what was occurring with hip-hop, however then it bought to the purpose the place we had been like, “We will take it significantly and begin recording,” and that’s after we thought we may even have a recording profession and evolve past simply performing domestically.
One factor led to a different and we met our man—Mike C—who was a neighborhood MC already signed to the previous Sugar Hill label. He launched us to Sylvia Robinson and Joey Robinson, Jr. from Sugar Hill Data and that’s after we began to take ourselves significantly so far as recording artists. We started recording below the identify The New Fashion, and as soon as we had our demo collectively, we offered it to them and so they signed us below The New Fashion for our first album.
Sugar Hill Data at the moment—in fact they’d Melly Mel, Grandmaster Flash, the entire legendary music—however they had been on the tail finish of their run. It was nearly like signing with Demise Row after Demise Row was over. Sugar Hill Data ended up altering their identify to Bon Ami Data—which was a part of a settlement of a lawsuit they’d with MCA—and so our album simply sat on the shelf and by no means did something. However we believed in ourselves and we knew we had extra to offer, in order that was that pivotal second the place we had been like we’re not going to surrender. We pursued Mark The 45 King and Queen Latifah from The Taste Unit as a result of they had been our contemporaries proper in our personal yard. We wished to get down with The Taste Unit and started auditioning for them, threw a celebration for ourselves and invited Taste Unit over, after which as soon as Taste Unit signed us to Taste Unit Administration, we modified our identify to Naughty By Nature. That was the second we had been like, “Now we actually should go for it.”
Excessive Occasions: And also you didn’t let the enterprise stuff discourage you from pursuing what you knew you had.
DJ KayGee: Whereas we had been with Bon Ami, we did an entire album, and we thought we did okay with it. It was the start phases—and like Vin mentioned—we had by no means been within the studio. We weren’t absolutely, absolutely developed but however we did assume we had one thing to begin off with. Folks had been beginning to say “You guys have one thing, you guys have one thing.”
We felt like we type of bought the quick finish of the stick popping out below Bon Ami, however on the identical time, we discovered the best way to get higher and the place to file. Inside that course of, we began paying for the studio time ourselves and began actually creating what you hear—and what you heard—as Naughty By Nature. That’s after we began engaged on “O.P.P.” and all of these information whereas nonetheless doing expertise reveals and getting higher and higher. Not solely did we really feel we had perfected the best way to carry out dwell, we had began to come back into our personal within the studio as nicely.
After we had been feeling zoned in after that first album—Naughty By Nature—that’s after we did the entire thing with The Taste Unit and threw our personal occasion and met with them. At that time, we had “O.P.P.” and knew we had a bomb with it and knew that after we had some higher folks with us, we’d have the ability to break by. We had been rocking crowds with out a file, so if we took the entire thing and put it collectively, put it on wax, after which did what we may do with a file that folks knew, we might be unstoppable. We simply wanted to get the politics to kick us by the door, and Taste Unit was the politics.
Vin Rock: I’d say one of many greatest catalysts for us again then had been—they name them “haters” immediately—however again within the day, they’d name them “sleepers,” the individuals who had been sleeping on you—the doubters. I bear in mind after we had the twelve-inch single as The New Fashion known as “Scuffin’ These Knees,” then we had the album which we put up in a neighborhood sandwich store—Sandwiches Limitless. We had been simply popping out of highschool and we had been the hometown heroes, however the album by no means actually broke by, so lots of people had been like, “Nah, they didn’t make it, they’ll by no means make it.” That basically pissed us off and made us be like, “You already know what? We actually should show to those haters that we will make it.”
Excessive Occasions: You took that sleep, took that hate, and turned it into one thing optimistic that ended up being a hit.
DJ KayGee: Positively. We had been beginning to hone in and ideal all of it. At that time, it was identical to, “We actually love this.” There’s no turning again. When you begin doing it, you begin creating and having fun with it. It got here from simply being a part-time pastime to being one thing that turned a occupation that we took actually significantly.
Excessive Occasions: And by taking it significantly, you had been merely taking your dwell crowd-rocking skills and recording them in a method that extra folks may eat.
DJ KayGee: That’s why once you hear the information we’ve made they’ve all the time been call-and-response or party-driven information. We come from that period and that model of artists. Interval. We needed to rock crowds and win folks over with no file.
Excessive Occasions: Which is totally different from the way it’s completed immediately.
DJ KayGee: They don’t do this anymore. Folks simply put information out after which they throw you on the stage after. There is no such thing as a honing of the abilities, taking your losses. We bought “booed” loads of instances developing. We’ve been by all of that. A variety of these [new] guys—and it’s not their fault—it’s simply music has modified now.
Vin Rock: As a matter of truth, final night time all of us went over to DaDa’s birthday celebration and guess who was there? Large Stan, yo. He’s the promoter who booked us at Crimson Alert’s birthday celebration after we had been The New Fashion—simply earlier than we transitioned to Naughty By Nature.
We’re from New Jersey, and again then, it was all concerning the 5 boroughs of New York Metropolis and so they had been so possessive of hip-hop. In case you weren’t from the 5 boroughs, don’t even take into consideration coming into New York saying you’re a rapper since you are actually uninvited.
Due to KayGee’s older brother, he had a relationship with this man Stan, who was an enormous promoter again then. Stan had thrown DJ Crimson Alert’s birthday celebration and the who’s who of hip-hop was there: KRS-One, De La Soul, Queen Latifah, Tribe Known as Quest—you identify them, they had been there. And [Stan] gave us a shot as being Jersey artists coming into New York Metropolis for Crimson Alert’s birthday celebration. Effectively, we get within the venue, I seize the mic and say, “What’s up, y’all. Jersey’s in the home! They booed us endlessly. We couldn’t get by our routine, we performed the primary file and so they booed booed booed booed booed. We needed to simply cease the present and step off. The weirdest factor about it was that it was winter time. After we drove into New York Metropolis, the roads had been clear. After we bought booed, we went outdoors and there was three toes of snow. We had the longest journey again to Jersey.
Excessive Occasions: An expertise like that teaches you one thing.
Vin Rock: Oh it taught us every little thing. At that time, it was not solely our friends and highschool mates who had been doubting us—though we had a wholesome help system and had lots of people rocking with us—it was these one or two feedback like “Ah, you’re crap” or no matter that make you are feeling like they’re screwing you over. We had the hometown that we needed to show to that we may break by, after which we went into New York Metropolis understanding we had been outcasts and understanding New York Metropolis wasn’t checking for any Jersey rappers. We could as nicely have been from Alabama again then. After we went to New York and bought booed, it simply lit that fireplace below us and we had been like, “Nah, man. We’re actually going to get these guys.”
We known as them sleepers and made songs like “Thankx for Sleepwalking,” and as we advanced into Naughty By Nature, we made bedsheets and pillow circumstances so folks may “sleep” on us actually [laughs].
Excessive Occasions: And revenue off their snoozing.
Vin Rock: On our second album, we had the inserts there for Naughty By Nature merchandise. Tommy Boy Data had the inserts and we actually offered the bedsheets within the cassettes and CDs again then. Within the “Hip Hop Hooray” video, there’s a scene the place Treach is in mattress and he pulls the sheet over and it’s Naughty By Nature mattress sheets. We positively monetized it.
Excessive Occasions: By way of “Hip Hop Hooray,” it’s now the thirtieth anniversary of the monitor and the album 19 Naughty III. What went into the monitor and album at the moment?
DJ KayGee: Primary, it was the second album and lots of people—and I’m certain even Tommy Boy—in all probability weren’t certain what they’d in us but. All people was all the time frightened concerning the “sophomore jinx,” like is it a one album or one file fluke. Can you actually get by, or is it a one-hit-wonder factor.
We had been out touring and touring and touring—”O.P.P.”, “Uptown Anthem,” “Every thing’s Gonna Be Alright”—we had all of these information, so we had been on tour for like a 12 months and a half straight. Tommy Boy was telling Taste Unit, “The fellows must get in and get a brand new file. We have to capitalize off the success of the primary album. What’s up?” So we had been working however we didn’t actually really feel any strain. Like I mentioned, we felt like we knew what we had been doing. We knew what we had been doing and we had been simply gonna do what we do. We weren’t going to be caught or attempt to be one thing that we weren’t, we had been simply going to make our information. And that’s what we did.
Even going into “Hip Hop Hooray,” we didn’t strategy it making an attempt to make an enormous file or making an attempt to do something. It was simply one other monitor, one other refrain, one other concept. As soon as it was completed we knew we had one other monster, nevertheless it was identical to, “Hey, we’re going to work our information.” And even with that, we knew we had a superb file however by no means even handed the file in.
We went as much as KMEL within the Bay Space and had been doing a radio present for his or her Summer season Jam and had been identical to, “Yo, let’s check this file out.” We carried out the file there and that’s the place the entire arms up “Hey, Ho” got here from. Treach simply began [moving his arms on stage] and the gang began doing it. So we had been like okay, that’s going to hold over.
Folks went so loopy that this system director known as Tommy Boy the subsequent morning and mentioned, “There’s this file that Naughty By Nature carried out final night time. In case you don’t ship that to me now, we’re going to play the dwell model on the radio.” Tommy Boy was calling in to Shakim [Compere] like, “What’s going on? What file are they speaking about?” And had been like, “Oh, that’s ‘Hip Hop Hooray.’ We simply have to combine and end it. We simply tried it out on the market and it was dope so, yeah, we’ll get it to you quickly.”
Vin Rock: One other factor that was so genius concerning the file “Hip Hop Hooray” was that though we had been from Jersey, though we had been ostracized developing, and though New York Metropolis didn’t settle for us, as soon as we lastly broke by and started to get idolized after the primary album, we began to win over the New York guys and New York friends. The primary single off the second album—”Hip Hop Hooray”—it gave props to hip-hop, and I believe it was genius what Treach did.
As a substitute of being bitter like, “Yeah, take a look at us now, we’re the shit, blah blah blah,” the track gave props to hip-hop. We shouted out all of our forefathers and that’s what it was—giving props to everybody who got here earlier than us, which is why I say to today that “Hip Hop Hooray” is the final word ode to hip-hop.
Even proper now as we’re celebrating fifty years in hip-hop, no higher file sums up fifty years in hip-hop for me than “Hip Hop Hooray.” It represents inclusion, provides props to the forefathers, and is the final word occasion file.
Excessive Occasions: Do you know forward of time that Spike Lee was going to direct the music video?
DJ KayGee: We had been simply sitting round or one thing and any person was like, “What do you consider Spike Lee directing this?” We had been identical to, “That might be dope.”
Vin Rock: We had rhythm then, so all eyes had been on us—and though Tommy Boy was indie—they had been a small, robust machine. In order that they had been reaching out, and I’m certain they reached out to Spike Lee. He noticed the power Naughty was kicking on the market and we positively made that occur.
With Spike being from Brooklyn and us being from Jersey, we truly shot in each cities. We shot in Brooklyn, we shot in Jersey, after which we had the cameo record. From Run-D.M.C., Queen Latifah, Monie Like to D-Good, Eazy-E—you identify it.
Humorous sufficient, 2Pac was there on the set, however for some purpose he didn’t make the minimize. Within the crowd scenes although, 2Pac was there.
DJ KayGee: Yeah, there’s an image of him standing on the circle factor or no matter.
Vin Rock: I believe Pac was simply so younger within the sport [at that time] that he wasn’t actually on the map but. That’s in all probability a Spike edit, however I’m certain Spike has that uncooked footage. We’ll have to interrupt into these 40 Acres and a Mule vaults and get that. It will have been dope to do a remix video with that authentic footage and use edits and cuts that had been by no means within the authentic video.
DJ KayGee: And lots of people had been at that video.You speak to numerous our counterparts and so they’ll say they had been at that video.
Excessive Occasions: So it was extra of a “Who’s Who” occasion as a lot because it was a music video for you guys.
Vin Rock: Precisely. It was a celebration, man. That’s what I bear in mind. I bear in mind it being a celebration, I bear in mind the entire chicks being round. We had been like twenty-three again then.
Excessive Occasions: By way of events, what position did hashish play in your music creation course of and in your private lives?
Vin Rock: We grew up within the streets, and to not incriminate ourselves, we had been avenue children. So promoting weed was a part of developing.
DJ KayGee: That was the weed period.
Vin Rock: Particularly within the eighties, man. Late eighties.
Vin Rock: Shit, even the mid-eighties. I bear in mind being the stash man after I was fourteen or fifteen years previous. Once more, I’m the youngest of seven, so there’s an enormous age hole. My oldest sister is now sixty-five years previous and I’m fifty-two. So with 5 sisters, Colt 45, taking part in backgammon, and spades—I’m the youngest man sitting round. Sipping beer and smoking weed—I picked that up as a 13/fourteen 12 months previous.
Creatively and musically, one of the well-known strains on one in every of our information is on “Uptown Anthem.” It begins off with: Hey you would smoke a spliff / On a cliff / However there’s nonetheless no mountain hiiiiiigh sufficient / Or huge sufficient to the touch. It begins off with weed.
We got here with “O.P.P.”, then we had “Every thing’s Gonna Be Alright,” after which the track “Uptown Anthem” was the one off the Juice soundtrack, which they finally hooked up to the primary album, however the first bar has to do with weed.
Treach and I are the weed people who smoke of the group. Kay simply offered it [laughs], nevertheless it’s all the time performed a job in our artistic course of.
DJ KayGee: I couldn’t get excessive alone provide.
Excessive Occasions: Did you promote it to Vin and Treach?
DJ KayGee: Completely [laughs]. However then it bought to the purpose the place I began giving it to them.
Vin Rock: I bear in mind at one level after I was promoting, I used to choose up from Kay after which promote our weed within the park and stuff like that. So Kay was the plug again within the day.
DJ KayGee: Somewhat little bit of weed by no means harm anyone. It’s authorized now, nevertheless it by no means harm anyone.
Excessive Occasions: Creatively, how did it enable you to?
Vin Rock: Positively once you’re performing. You calm down, you get within the temper. The mixture of weed and a few alcohol is all we ever did. It simply units the tone so that you can exit and rock the gang.
Even within the artistic course of, you would be sober writing rhymes, writing lyrics, developing with concepts—after which once you wish to calm down a bit of extra and also you blaze a bit of bit—it provides you a distinct mindset and also you’ll consider stuff you didn’t essentially consider once you had been sober. After you sober up, you possibly can go again to the fabric you developed once you had been fucking blazed up. It’s a superb steadiness. You give you what it is advisable to file.
Excessive Occasions: One other device within the toolbox.
Vin Rock: Precisely. It’s like one other dimension.
Observe @naughtybynature4ever, @unclevinrock, @kaygeebn and take a look at the 30th anniversary of 19 Naughty III dropping in every single place 2/24.