Naughty By Nature: Nature's Fury

The conventional wisdom regarding MC Hammer is that after he lost his black audience, there was no one left once his white fans moved on to less comically inept rappers. Luckily, such a fate never befell more respectable rap veterans like Naughty By Nature, Coolio, and Digital Underground, all of whom parlayed the massive success of their early pop hits into solid careers. Naughty By Nature hasn't released an album since the halcyon days of 1995, but Treach, Vinnie, and Kay-Gee haven't really disappeared from the rap scene, thanks to such late-'90s singles as "Work" and "Mourn You Till I Join You." "Work" turns up on Nature's Fury, and to the group's credit, that fine single, from the soundtrack to the less-than-remarkable Ernie Hudson vehicle Butter, is not even among the half-dozen best songs here. As with the group's previous albums, Nature's Fury moves fluidly from grimy, street-oriented songs ("Dirt All By My Lonely," "Live Or Die") to such silky, R&B-augmented fare as "Jamboree" and "The Blues." On "Holiday," Treach and company recall the disco-ready pop of The Sugarhill Gang, while on "Radio," the band pays tribute to Run-D.M.C. with its mixture of straightforward rapping and minimalist metal guitar. Perhaps the nicest thing that can be said about Nature's Fury is that when Treach recites an entire verse of Run-D.M.C.'s "King Of Rock" during "Radio," it doesn't seem cheap or inappropriate. After all, Naughty By Nature has earned a place alongside that band in the pantheon of rap acts that have achieved commercial success and longevity without sacrificing their integrity.