Nappy Roots is an American

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

Southern rap Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memph ...

group. The group met in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...

in 1995 while attending

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

. They are best known for their hit singles " Po' Folks", "

Awnaw "Awnaw" (featuring Jazze Pha) is the first single by the Kentucky rap group Nappy Roots, produced by James "Groove" Chambers. It was released in 2001, taken from Nappy Roots's first album '' Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz'' (2002). It peaked at n ...

", " Roun' The Globe" and "Good Day". They were the best selling hip hop group of 2002. The group consists of

Milledgeville, Georgia Milledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon and bordered on the east by the Oconee River. The rapid current of the river here made this an attractive location to buil ...

native Fish Scales and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

natives Skinny DeVille, B. Stille and Ron Clutch. In 2006, R. Prophet left the group, and in 2012 Big V aka Vito Banga also left. Both are pursuing solo careers.

Biography

The group formed when the members were students at

. Nappy Roots' debut independent album ''Country Fried Cess'' was released in 1998, which led to the group being signed by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. Their first album on Atlantic was 2002's best selling hip-hop album, ''

Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz ''Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz'' is the commercial debut studio album by American hip hop sextet Nappy Roots from Kentucky. It was released on February 26, 2002 via Atlantic Records. Background Recording sessions took place at Tree Sound and ...

''. The multi-platinum album featured the hit-singles "Headz Up", "Awnaw", and "Po' Folks". The "Awnaw (Remix)" featuring

Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...

P.O.D. P.O.D., an initialism for Payable on Death, is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992 and based in San Diego, California. The band's line-up consists of drummer and rhythm guitarist Wuv Bernardo, vocalist Sonny Sandoval, bassist Traa ...

appeared on ''

Madden 2003 ''Madden NFL 2003'' is an American football simulation video game based on the NFL that was developed by EA Tiburon and Budcat Creations and published by EA Sports. The 14th installment of the ''Madden NFL series'', the game features former St. ...

''. In their home state,

Paul E. Patton Paul Edward Patton (born May 26, 1937) is an American politician who served as the 59th governor of Kentucky from 1995 to 2003. Because of a 1992 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution, he was the first governor eligible to run for a second ter ...

, the

governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-el ...

, sanctioned September 16 as "Nappy Roots Day". Their next and last album with Atlantic Records was ''

Wooden Leather ''Wooden Leather'' is the second studio album by American hip hop sextet Nappy Roots from Kentucky. It was released on August 26, 2003 via Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place at Tree Sound and The Zone in Atlanta, at Emerald Sound St ...

'', released in 2003, featuring the singles "Roun' the Globe", which was featured on ''

Madden 2004 ''Madden NFL 2004'' is the 15th installment of the ''Madden NFL'' series of American football video games. Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is on the cover. Gameplay New features in ''Madden 2004'' include a new owner mode option t ...

'', and "Sick and Tired" (featuring Anthony Hamilton). This critically acclaimed, major label follow-up album featured production from

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

David Banner Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Ban ...

and

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

. Also in 2003, Nappy Roots were on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to '' Daredevil'', with the song "Right Now", which featured

Marcos Curiel Marcos Curiel (born September 9, 1974) is the lead guitarist of rock bands P.O.D., The Accident Experiment and Daylight Division. Curiel was born in San Diego, California, in 1974 and is of Mexican descent. He grew up in the neighboring city of ...

and was released on

Windup Records Wind-up Entertainment was an American independent record label founded by Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by BMG Distribution. Wind-up's best-selling artists worldwide were Creed and Evanescence. ...

. In 2004, three songs by Nappy Roots were included in the movie soundtrack to '' The Ladykillers'', released on

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. Since the release of ''Wooden Leather'' they have gone back to being independent artists, and have started their own label, N.R.E.G. (Nappy Roots Entertainment Group) with distribution through Fontana/

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. On July 31, 2007, they released their first album as independent artists, ''

Innerstate Music {{Infobox album , name = Innerstate Music , type = Mixtape , artist = Nappy Roots , cover =Innerstate Music.jpg , alt = , released = July 31, 2007 (U.S.) , recorded = , venue = , studio = , genre ...

'', featuring singles "Good Day" and "Keep It Real". This was actually an internet album, similar to a modern-day

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

. It was intended to be a precursor to their 2008 album, ''

The Humdinger ''The Humdinger'' is the third studio album by American hip hop quintet Nappy Roots from Kentucky. It was released on August 5, 2008 under Nappy Roots Entertainment Group record label's partnership with Fontana Distribution. Recording sessions took ...

'', which was released on August 5, 2008. In 2007 Nappy Roots was featured on the original version of the Tantric song titled "Fall Down". The song had originally been intended for Tantric's album ''

Tantric III ''The End Begins'' is the third studio album by American rock band Tantric. It is the first one recorded without the band's original members Todd Whitener, Matt Taul, and Jesse Vest. Vocalist Hugo Ferreira, the only remaining original member, ...

'', but due to the album being shelved, the song went unreleased. However, Tantric did re-record the song for their 2008 album '' The End Begins''. The version featuring Nappy Roots can only be found on YouTube. The critically acclaimed album ''

'' features guest appearances from Anthony Hamilton,

Greg Nice Nice & Smooth is an East Coast hip hop duo from New York City that consists of Gregory O. "Greg Nice" Mays (born May 30, 1967) and Darryl O. "Smooth B" Barnes (born August 3, 1967) plus their deejay Tedd "DJ Teddy Tedd" Whiting. The duo released f ...

, Greg Street and Slick & Rose, with production from Sol Messiah, James "Groove" Chambers, BIG AL 360, Joe Hop and more. The album entered the ''Billboard'' Rap Charts at No. 7 and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at No. 13. In 2009 the single "We're Gonna Make it" by Skinny and Scales was released through Nappy Roots Entertainment Group. Nappy Roots kicked off 2010 with their highly anticipated new album, ''

The Pursuit of Nappyness ''The Pursuit of Nappyness'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop quintet Nappy Roots from Kentucky. It was released on June 15, 2010 under Nappy Roots Entertainment Group record label's partnership with Fontana Distribution. The album ...

'', released on June 15, 2010. The album features songs by Phivestarr Productions, a production duo from

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. In 2011, Nappy Roots teamed up with hip hop producers

Organized Noize Organized Noize is an American production team from Atlanta, Georgia composed of Rico Wade, Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown. History Among the hit records they have worked on include TLC's "Waterfalls", En Vogue's "Don't Let Go (Love)", and Luda ...

to create ''Nappy Dot Org''. The first single, "Congratulations", was made available online on July 13, 2011 by way of ''

XXL Magazine ''XXL'' is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997. History In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of ''XXL''. It featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 20 ...

'' and 2DopeBoyz. On October 11, 2011 Nappy Roots released ''Nappy Dot Org'', entirely produced by Organized Noize. The ''Nappy Roots Presents Sh!ts Beautiful'' album/mixtape was released on June 27, 2012 through

AllHipHop AllHipHop is a hip hop news website founded by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur in 1998. History The website was founded in 1998 by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur. In 1997, Watkins registered the allhiphop.com domain to promote the artists on ...

. In 2015, Nappy Roots released their most recent album, ''The 40 Akerz Project''. In 2018, the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

featured Nappy Roots song "Good Day" in their promotional video "Seize the DEY".

Singles

Discography

Studio albums

Featured tracks

Mixtapes

Music videos

Awards and nominations

2002

* 2002

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

nomination for the MTV2 Award for "Awnaw" - shared nomination with

Jazze Pha Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to wh ...

2003

* 2003

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produ ...

nominations for ''Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Hip-Hop/R&B'' and ''Favorite New Artist - Hip-Hop/R&B'' * 2003

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for ''"Po' Folks"'' - shared nomination with Anthony Hamilton and Best Long Form Music Video for "The World According to Nappy" - shared nomination with Gloria Gabriel, director; David Anthony * 2003

Soul Train Award The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of '' Soul Train'', the ...

nomination for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist for ''"Awnaw"''

2008

* 2008 HipHopDX Award for "The Humdinger"

2011

* 2011 SEA Award for "

The Pursuit Of Nappyness ''The Pursuit of Nappyness'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop quintet Nappy Roots from Kentucky. It was released on June 15, 2010 under Nappy Roots Entertainment Group record label's partnership with Fontana Distribution. The album ...

" - Album of the Year nomination

References

External links

Official site

Official Nappy Dot Org site

Nappy Roots
at Myspace
Nappy Roots on BandsInTownAtlantucky Brewing
{{Authority control Southern hip hop groups Musical groups from Kentucky Musicians from Bowling Green, Kentucky Atlantic Records artists Musical groups established in 1995 Alternative hip hop groups 1995 establishments in Kentucky