Naughty By Nature with Smif N Wessun and Black Moon at Stage 48 on April 29, 2016

If you were around New York City in the mid 90’s and had any kind of interest in hip hop, the lineup at Stage 48 last Friday no doubt has some appeal. Naughty By Nature, the trio that added the expression ‘O.P.P.’ into common use, led the charge of no fewer than 3 groups who sold significant numbers of records and earned widespread acclaim in that flavorful period in the city’s and in the form’s history. While Naughty By Nature hail from Jersey, Smif N Wessun and Black Moon are from Brooklyn; both with ties to the Boot Camp Clik out of Brownsville. Buckshot – who along with DJ Evil Dee and 5ft makes Black Moon and is actually from Crown Heights – is a member of the BCC as is Tek and Steele of Smif N Wessun.

Just 3 years ago, the notion of Naughty By Nature doing a 25th anniversary tour seemed highly unlikely as Treach and Vin Rock exchanged some harsh words via the press and, on one occasion fists. Cooler heads however prevailed and the group now is not only on the road but they initiated a Kickstarter campaign and they’re brewing up their first studio recordings since 2011’s Anthem, Inc. The scuttlebutt is one EP will drop in the summer and another late in the year. A documentary film is imminent as well. Catch the fellas on Sunday May 15th as part of Bronx Week festivities.

Smif N Wessun and Black Moon, for their part, both appear on the super stony Too High To Die compilation on Duck Down Music (that Buckshot founded with Drew Friedman in 95) issued last month on 4-20. It includes tracks by B-Real (caught in the act last fall in Times Square with his Cypress Hill mates) as well as Jr. Gong Marley, and the late Sean Price. Smoke if you got ’em…