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Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap quartet from Louisville, Kentucky. The group met in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1995 while attending Western Kentucky University. They are best known for their hit singles "Po' Folks", "Awnaw", "Roun' The Globe" and "Good Day". They were the best selling hip hop group of 2002.[1] The group consists of Milledgeville, Georgia native Fish Scalesand Kentucky natives Skinny DeVille, B. Stille and Ron Clutch. In 2006, Oakland, California native R. Prophet left the group, and in 2012 Kentucky native Big V aka Vito Banga also left. Both are pursuing solo careers.[2][3]

5.1 2002

5.2 2003

5.3 2008

5.4 2011

6 Notes

7 External links

Big V (Nappy Roots)

Vito Tisdale, also known as “Big V” or “Vito Banga," was once the sixth member of multi-platinum hip-hop group Nappy Roots, known largely for their 2002 album “Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz,” which earned two Grammy nominations. Tisdale, born February 14, 1976, grew up in the Shake Rag neighborhood of Bowling Green, which ran along the north end of State Street. He grew up poor, living in government housing with his mom, Uretha, two older twin sisters and younger brother. “You could see your breath in me and my little brother’s room in the winter,” Tisdale says. “I thought every kid had it like that. I didn’t know it was good or bad; I just know it was cold in there in the winter.” The environment of his childhood neighborhood would have lasting effects. Tisdale says he recalls the first murder he witnessed, which happened roughly around age five. Tisdale found solace in music as a child, listening to music more heavily and dabbling in writing lyrics. He also found solace in football. He began playing in elementary school after being signed up for a local peewee league. He continued to play throughout the years of his schooling in Bowling Green, up through high school. His skills with the pigskin would earn him a position on Eastern Kentucky University’s team. After accepting, Tisdale realized his passion for the game was declining. He left EKU after his first semester and returned to Bowling Green. With his football dreams behind him, he turned to music. Tisdale was recruited into Nappy Roots in the mid 1990s after rapping for a group at a Western Kentucky University college party. The group originally consisted of Skinny DeVille, B. Stille, Ron Clutch, Fish Scales, R. Prophit and Tisdale, who went by Big V. Nappy Roots launched their careers with small performances in the local bar scene. (19)

Music Career ( The Nappy Years)

The group formed when the members were students at Western Kentucky University.[4] Nappy Roots' debut independent album Country Fried Cess was released in 1998, which led to the group being signed by Atlantic Records. Their first album on Atlantic was 2002's best selling hip-hop album, Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz. The multi-platinum album featured the hit-singles "Headz Up", "Awnaw", and "Po' Folks". The "Awnaw (Remix)" featuring Marcos of P.O.D. appeared on Madden 2003.

In their home state, Paul E. Patton, the governor of Kentucky, sanctioned September 16 as "Nappy Roots Day".

Their next and last album with Atlantic Records was Wooden Leather, released in 2003, featuring the singles "Roun' the Globe", which was featured on Madden 2004, and "Sick and Tired" (featuring Anthony Hamilton). This critically acclaimed, major label follow-up album featured production from Kanye West, David Banner and Lil Jon. Also in 2003, Nappy Roots were on the soundtrack to Daredevil, with the song "Right Now", which featured Marcos Curiel of P.O.D. and was released on Windup Records. In 2004, three songs by Nappy Roots were included in the movie soundtrack to The Ladykillers, released on Sony Music.

Since the release of Wooden Leather they have gone back to being independent artists, and have started their own label, N.R.E.G. (Nappy Roots Entertainment Group) with distribution through Fontana/Universal Music Group. On July 31, 2007, they released their first album as independent artists, Innerstate Music, featuring singles "Good Day" and "Keep It Real". This was actually an internet album, similar to a modern-day mixtape. It was intended to be a precursor to their 2008 album, The Humdinger, which was released on August 5, 2008.

[In 2007 Nappy Roots was featured on the original version of the Tantric song titled "Fall Down". The song had originally been intended for Tantric's album Tantric III, but due to the album being shelved, the song went unreleased. However, Tantric did re-record the song for their 2008 album The End Begins. The version featuring Nappy Roots can only be found on YouTube.[citation needed]

The critically acclaimed album The Humdinger features guest appearances from Anthony Hamilton, Greg Nice, Greg Street and Slick & Rose, with production from Sol Messiah, James "Groove" Chambers, BIG AL 360, Joe Hop and more. The album entered the Billboard Rap Charts at #7 and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at #13.

In 2009 the single "We're Gonna Make it" by Skinny and Scales was released through Nappy Roots Entertainment Group.

Nappy Roots kicked off 2010 with their highly anticipated new album, The Pursuit of Nappyness, released on June 15, 2010. The album features songs by Phivestarr Productions, a production duo from Atlanta, Georgia.[9]

In 2011, Nappy Roots teamed up with hip hop producers Organized Noize to create Nappy Dot Org. The first single, "Congratulations", was made available online on July 13, 2011 by way of XXL Magazine and 2DopeBoyz. On October 11, 2011 Nappy Roots released Nappy Dot Org, entirely produced by Organized Noize.

The Nappy Roots Presents Sh!ts Beautiful album/mixtape was released on June 27, 2012 through AllHipHop.[10]

Current

Tisdale departed from Nappy Roots in October 2012 to devote himself to being a full-time father. He also released “2real 2Be Hard” a free Ep as a thank you to his fans for all of the support over the years. (19) In 2015, Tisdale became involved with “Light of Chance” a nonprofit organization focused on using the arts to help youth overcome various obstacles in their lives. Big V also recorded “Divide That” a rap song to help young children learn multiplication and division. (20) Tisdale also recorded “Crimson Baby” later that year as a salute to his favorite college football team. Tisdale decided to return to music full time in 2017 citing that his kids were older now and didn’t need him at home as much. Tisdale formed his “Working Class Entertainment” label and released a promo single and video entitled “When We Were Young” which paid homage to his Nappy Roots days. Tisdale also released a Christmas song and video entitled “Send Santa an Email”. In first quarter 2018, Tisdale released two more promo singles “Street Boy” and “Colorado”. Tisdale plans for his first solo retail recording project to be released by third quarter 2018 and is being produced by Kyng of Da Beatz, a production team out of Kentucky. Big V is also launching his podcast, Daps and Handshakes, in July 2018. In addition, Tisdale is producing a one man play based upon his days as a member of Nappy Roots and overcoming abuse as child. (19)

Year	Song	Chart positions[12]				Album
Year	Song	U.S. Hot 100	R&B/Hip-Hop	U.S. Rap	Pop Songs	Album
2002	"Awnaw" (featuring Jazze Pha)	51	18	15	—	Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz
	"Po' Folks" (featuring Anthony Hamilton)	21	13	10	25
	"Headz Up"	—	88	—	—
2003	"Roun' The Globe"	96	53	25	—	Wooden Leather
2008	"Good Day"	—	80	—	—	The Humdinger
2008	"Down 'N Out" (featuring Anthony Hamilton)	—	91	—	—	The Humdinger
2010	"Ride"	—	—	—	—	The Pursuit of Nappyness
2011	"Congratulations"	—	—	—	—	Nappy Dot Org
2012	"Hey Love"	—	57	—	—	Nappy Dot Org
2012	"Another Sofa Bed" (featuring Audio Stepchild)	—	—	—	—	Nappy Roots Presents Sh!t's Beautiful
2012	Tom Petty	—	—	—	—	Big V 2 Real 2 Be Hard
2012	"#REDPLAGUE" (featuring Audio Stepchild)	—	—	—	—	ESPN license
2016	Crimson Baby	—	—	—	—
2017	When We Were Young	—	—	—	—
2017	Santa An Email	—	—	—	—
2018	Street Boy	—	—	—	—
2018	Colorado	—	—	—	—

Discography

Studio albums

Album information
Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz · RIAA Certification: Platinum · Released: February 26, 2002 · Billboard 200 chart position: #24 · R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #3 · Singles: "Awnaw", "Po' Folks", "Headz Up"
Wooden Leather · RIAA Certification: · Released: August 26, 2003 · Billboard 200 chart position: #12 · R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #9 · Singles: "Roun' the Globe", "Sick and Tired"
The Humdinger · Release: August 5, 2008 · Billboard 200 chart position: #73 · R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #13 · Rap chart position: #7 · Top Independent Albums: #11 · Singles: "Good Day", "Down & Out"
The Pursuit of Nappyness · Release: June 15, 2010 · Billboard 200 chart position: - · R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: 40 · Rap chart position: 21 · Top Independent Albums: 48 · Singles: "Ride", "Be Alright", "Back Home"
Nappy Dot Org (with Organized Noize) · Release: October 11, 2011 · Billboard 200 chart position: - · R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - · Rap chart position: - · Top Independent Albums: - · Singles: "Congratulations", "Hey Love"

Mixtapes

Mixtape information
Country Fried Cess · Release: 1998
No Comb No Brush No Fade No Perm · Release: 2000
The Leak · Release: 2005
Nappy Roots Music Presents - The Kentucky Kolonels Vol. 1 · Release: 2006
90 In The Slow Lane · Released: 2006
Innerstate Music · Released: 2007
Cookout Muzik · Released: 2008
Nappy University · Released: 2010
Nappy University Vol. 2: Fall Semester · Released: 2010
Nappy Roots Presents Sh!t's Beautiful · Released: 2012
Big V 2 Real 2 Be Hard · Released 2012

Music videos

Mixtape information
Country Fried Cess · Release: 1998
No Comb No Brush No Fade No Perm · Release: 2000
The Leak · Release: 2005
Nappy Roots Music Presents - The Kentucky Kolonels Vol. 1 · Release: 2006
90 In The Slow Lane · Released: 2006
Innerstate Music · Released: 2007
Cookout Muzik · Released: 2008
Nappy University · Released: 2010
Nappy University Vol. 2: Fall Semester · Released: 2010
Nappy Roots Presents Sh!t's Beautiful · Released: 2012
Big V 2 Real 2 Be Hard · Released 2012

Awards and nominations

2002

2002 MTV Video Music Award nomination for the MTV2 Award for "Awnaw" - shared nomination with Jazze Pha [13]

2003

2003 American Music Award nominations for Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Hip-Hop/R&B and Favorite New Artist - Hip-Hop/R&B[14]

2003 Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Po' Folks" - shared nomination with Anthony Hamilton and Best Long Form Music Video for "The World According to Nappy" - shared nomination with Gloria Gabriel, director; David Anthony [15]

2003 Soul Train Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist for "Awnaw"[16]

2008

2008 HipHopDX Award for "The Humdinger" [17]

2011

2011 SEA Award for "The Pursuit Of Nappyness" - Album of the Year nomination [18]

Origin	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Genres	Hip hop, Ameri-soul
Years active	1995 – present
Labels	Atlantic Nappy Roots Entertainment Group Fontana Distribution AVJ Records Working Class Entertainment Website: Bigvofnappyroots.com