I spent my high school and college years carefully building and curating a killer CD collection. Then the world around me pivoted to digital as I became a too-busy adult, and my CDs sat forgotten in the basement. Now I’m rediscovering them one at a time.
If you want a traditional album review, you can search and find dozens on the Internet.
What you’ll get here are my perspectives on the music from more than 30 years of playing drums in bands, stories about people connected to the album, or personal anecdotes that the songs brought back to life.
50% of JCJ proceeds go to Music Will, a very cool organization that supports music education with instrument donations, teacher resources, and professional development. They donated music gear to my school, which I used to teach music basics to students in grades 3-5.
JCJ: Naughty By Nature, “19 Naughty III”
“No one can act like they ain't heard of me, now motherfuckers might stop sleepin' on Jersey.” - Naughty By Nature
Insert link to album on YouTube.
If you’re not proud of where you’re from, go be from somewhere else. I’ve lived my whole life in New Jersey, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather reside. North Jersey has its own culture and vibe, which gets overshadowed by New York. A lot of music groups from Jersey act like they’re from the New York scene, so when artists rep Jersey pride, they get a gold star from me, no matter who they are (within reason).
Naughty By Nature was one of the biggest rap groups of the early and mid-90s, and they wore Jersey on their sleeve. They hailed from East Orange, a small city outside Newark. If you’re not from the area, you probably haven’t heard of it. It’s one of many cities in the state with a population under 100,000 that are no less urban than neighborhoods in New York or any other northeast metropolis, but anyone from outside of Jersey would probably think East Orange is a typical white-picket-fence suburb. That matters in hip hop, where the place you’re from helps determine street cred. It would’ve been easier and probably a better career move to throw in with New York, but they stayed true to Jersey anyway (such as in the track, “Sleepin’ on Jersey”) and climbed to the pinnacle of the genre.
East Orange only has about 70,000 residents, but the small city has made an immense contribution to music. In addition to Naughty By Nature, an incomplete list of artists raised there includes Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, and Queen Latifah, who made a guest appearance and executive produced “19 Naughty III.”
Inside the album sleeve, there’s an order form for Naughty By Nature gear and apparel:
Here are the items in order of which ones I’m most likely to purchase and use as a 43-year-old man in 2026:
Cold Sweats- Those hoodies are awesome. I’m even more likely to wear one today than I was when the album was in the charts.
Dope Drawers- I don’t usually try to make a statement with my underwear because no one will see it in public, but for these, maybe I’ll make an exception.
Black Mack Attack Jacket- Maybe one out of 100 people would recognize the baseball bat as the Naughty By Nature logo, and we’ll share a knowing smile. The other 99 out of 100 would think I’m a Little League dad, which isn’t a bad thing either.
Fly Times- I only own three watches, and they’re all broken. I wear them on occasion with suits purely for fashion. A Naughty By Nature watch face wouldn’t reflect the “serious professional” vibe I aim for when I bother to wear a watch.
Rap Sheets- My wife would veto these. Too bad.
I tried calling the 800 number listed on the order form. I don’t know what organization has it now, but it answered with an automated prompt that said, “If you’re over 50, press 1. If not, press 2,” so I don’t think it’s the place to order Naughty Gear anymore. So much for those Cold Sweats.
Album Rating: 5/10
Check out the Jewel Case Journal Archives to read older issues. Good music never goes out of style.
Feedback!
Send me an email at [email protected] or find me on Bluesky.
I’ll publish excerpts of feedback from paid subscribers here.
Promotion!
Listen to “Underground Mutants” by The Subway Ghosts. That’s me on drums!
Like baseball? Check out Baseball Prospectus for great insight and analysis daily. I write there on a weekly basis.
Follow me on Bluesky. Or don’t. It’s up to you.
Do you have something you’d like me to promote here? Send me an email at [email protected]. If I were a smart businessman, I would say this is available only for paid subscribers, but I’ll probably do it for anyone who has a worthwhile endeavor.