Nappy Roots eschews hip-hop 'bling'

By Chris Jordan
Gannett News Service

Kentucky hip-hop group Nappy Roots says trying to live an upscale life won't make you happy. "Just stay within your means." Associated Press

New down-home Kentucky hitmakers Nappy Roots are not ready to proclaim their band the anti-bling group.

But it's their view that the "bling-bling" lifestyle, which celebrates the material excess that most of today's hip-hop chart-toppers adhere to, is something that the rest of us probably should not try to emulate.

"I love to see people rocking they platinum chains, they nice Bentley cars," says Nappy Roots member Scales, also known as Melvin Adams. "The thing that we stress is, don't go out of your means if you can't get that. If you can afford that and that's what you do and that's what makes you happy, then we all for it.

"But don't be trying to have a Bentley and a platinum chain when you only making $10,000 a year. Just stay within your means ... that's what Nappy Roots is about."

In a music business where there are an abundance of songs about how much one pays to customize a car, or how many bottles of Cristal there are at a party, Nappy Roots celebrates the joy of being "Po' Folk" or "Ballin' on a Budget."

Try to live the bling-bling lifestyle, and chances are you'll be "very unhappy, cause you're not being yourself and you chasing after something you've seen on TV, which half the time, they don't even have it on TV," Scales said, referring to the fact that most of the jewelry and cars that rappers adorn themselves with in videos are rented.

"It doesn't exist," Scales said. "You're chasing after something that don't exist and you won't be happy."

It's similar to rock music, where drug abuse has been glorified, Scales said.

"In rock, you think the rock 'n' roll players are drug addicts and think that it's cool," Scales said. "That's not true — it's just something you might see on TV."

No such imagery when Nappy Roots is on television. The group — Skinny DeVille, B. Stille, Ron Clutch, Big V. and R. Prophet — came together on the campus of Western Kentucky University in 1995. Self starters, Nappy Roots independently released two albums — 1998's "Country Fried Cess" and 1999's "No Comb, No Brush, No Fade, No Perm" — before releasing their major-label debut, "Watermelon, Chicken and Grits," on Atlantic Records earlier this year.

"Watermelon" is a soulful, groove-filled party jam of an album that marries the gritty hip-hop sound of the Dirty South with the P-Funk of West Coast rap, and takes it beyond. The organ riff on "Awnaw" suggests a gospel revival and guitar noodling on "Po Folks" shades into the blues. Overall, it's a lip-smackin' good cookout of hip-hop that dares to be different.

"Awnaw" is a Top-20 hit on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks.

The group already has performed on "The Late Show with David Letterman," and often is seen on MTV. Right now, the group is part of the Sprite Liquid Mix tour, a hip-hop and rock excursion.

Hoobastank, 311, N.E.R.D., Blackalicious, Talib Kweli, Asbury Park's Borialis and the bling-bling king himself, Jay-Z, round out the tour.

How will Jay-Z react to Nappy Roots' anti-bling vibe?

"I don't know — we're going to find out," Scales said. "I'm sure he's cool with it. We're just common people, and we got a lot of respect for him. He'll see that when we meet him."