Second album by Naughty by Nature, released two years after the debut and distributed worldwide by Tommy Boy and Warner Bros. The album is well received by critics and fans, managing to hit first place in the rap album chart and third on the Billboard 200, certified platinum in three months.
Additionally, the single "Hip Hop Hooray" comes first among hip-hop songs. Lyrically, the group focuses on fun braggadocio and battle rap, with some personal and socio-conscious excerpts, dealing with a bit of street life managing to be neither gangsta nor hardcore, unlike the rest of the rap scene of the period, and partly setting aside pop rap.
The production is made by Naughty by Nature, who put minimal, energetic and festive boom bap funky-jazzy rhythms on the table, with slow, pounding and tight drums, and easy samples. Vin Rock and Kay Gee do a good job overall, but Treach's total performance over the course of this hour stands out: he's at his best in career and kills as many cuts as possible with a smooth and fast delivery, technically excellent, sometimes dope, he's flawless.
The album, consisting of 14 choices plus a five-minute outro and just under an hour of listening, boasts the presence of a few guests: Heavy D, Rottin Razkals, Freddie Foxxx and Queen Latifah. Rottin Razkals are a group from East Orange, New Jersey, practically on their rap game debut, adding little to the lean boom bap with a few dark piano keys in "Knock Em Out da Box"; Freddie Foxxx simply doesn't look at his best on "Hot Potato", while the other two guests find themselves in a pair of ragga fillers, with Queen Latifah delivering a ragga-style performance.
In conclusion, the album is a good product, cohesive and solid, perhaps a step up from the debut, with some random ragga filler that makes it a little less homogeneous. Recommended for fans of Naughty by Nature and East Coast aesthetes: on little more than generic rhythms, Treach offers almost memorable performances.
Highlights: "19 Naughty III", "Hip Hop Hooray", "Daddy Was a Street Corner", "The Hood Comes First", "It's On", "Hot Potato".
Rating: 7.5/10.
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