Way Back: Uptown Anthem (1992)
“You can't handle the scandal of an uptown vandal”
- Treach on “Uptown Anthem”
On January 22nd, 1992 Naughty By Nature released “Uptown Anthem”. While it was made for the Juice soundtrack, it was also the final track on the group’s eponymous second album. Combining a quick sample from Fred Wesley and JBs with producer, DJ Kay Gee’s drums, was all Treach and Vin needed to go hard.
If ever there was a single song that showed how much of an underrated MC Treach is, this is it. He has the unique ability to make the most hardcore themes sound like sacred street scripture. He’s not just rhyming, he’s teaching lessons through the things he saw in East Orange, New Jersey. He starts with a cool change of pace, showing off the machine gun flow for a bar far before Das EFX made it cool
The naughty, nappy, nasty nigga, the nasty, trashy, ho-happy pappy
That's happy to be nappy
Me and Vin Rock win spots, hit flocks
In groups and troops with Timbo boots and jail suits
But Treach is more than just technique, he quotes a bit of Confucius at the end of verse one.
You can run, but you can't hide, you can't go far
No matter where you go, there you are
He also speaks directly to what the term “juice” means in the film. He describes it as “steppin’ for the rep”, or doing things to earn the respect of others. His brief cameo in the film allowed him to build and strengthen a friendship with the film’s star, Tupac.
Treach (in black) taking a photo during the filming of Juice
Vin Rock isn’t the most heralded rapper either, but he slipped in some clever alliteration in his eight-bar appearance.
Steppin' to the puny, puddy punks catchin' feelings
I hit so many guts, call me gutter, I'm the bread and butter
Punk motherfuckers, I'll cut up, workin' from the gut up
This may not be the group’s most heralded track, as it get’s lost amongst some of their radio hits. Still, this is one of the best songs they ever put out, showing off what makes the group special. For me, that’s the ability to show legitimate sophistication within the framework of a hardcore rap song. That alone is worthy of an anthem, and it should belong to uptown.
