Naughty by Nature Win Best Rap Album for ‘Poverty’s Paradise’ at 1996 Grammy Awards – Today in Hip-Hop
On this day, Feb. 28, in hip-hop history...
1996: New Jersey trio Naughty by Nature made history at the 1996 Grammy Awards, becoming the first rap group to win the honor of Best Rap Album and land on a list that would soon be populated by legends.
Naughty by Nature were already an established act before they earned the award. Three friends, Treach, Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee, scored multiple hits, like 1991's "O.P.P." and "Hip Hop Hooray," effectively turning the crew into a household name. The album that may have meant the most for their careers, critically, was their fourth. Poverty's Paradise dropped around the mid-point of Naughty By Nature's career, and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
The album earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album in 1996, the first year of the award's existence. Primed to make history, the trio knew that a win would mean a lot for their career, and hip-hop at large.
While Naughty by Nature were in contention for a very important award, they would have to beat some big names to have their moment in the sun. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's E. 1999 Eternal, Tupac Shakur's Me Against the World, Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version and Skee-Lo's I Wish were all worthy competition. At the end of the night, Naughty by Nature emerged victorious, and put themselves in the record books with Poverty's Paradise.
Jersey wins again.
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