Nealy six months after Naughty by Nature’s Vin “Vinny” Rock declared he would no longer hit the stage with group member Anthony “Treach” Criss, the two reunited for a legendary performance earlier this week.
Vinny, Treach, and DJ Kay Gee celebrated the 50th year of hip-hop as they performed during LL Cool J’s annual Rock the Bells festival.
The event, held at Queens’ Forest Hills Stadium in New York City, brought together artists from many eras of hip-hop and rap. Vinny wore a black shirt and black shorts with white writing, while Treach wore a 1980s-inspired red leather outfit with the group’s signature Naughty By Nature logo on the back.
Therefore, fans online were excited when Vinny shared a video clip of the duo performing their song “Uptown Anthem” on his Instagram page. He and Treach kept some distance on stage stemming from their 2011 argument when Treach “pulled a knife” on him.
Vinny also shared a photo of the group posing with the legendary DJ Flash.
Fans rushed to his comment section, where they doted over Vinny and Treach’s reunion on stage despite Vinny previously making it sound like it was almost impossible for the group to do so ever again.
“A whole lot of my favorite people here in this one picture!!!!”
“Glad to see Naughty back together. Salute.”
“This is epic… I’m so happy to ser my Naughty Boys back on the right track..”
“@unclevinrock Great seeing u back stage Saturday fam & Great seeing yall Crush It as surprise guests.”
“Naughty by Nature looking good. I’m waiting on y’all verzuz.”
In February, Vinny sat down with Touré for his podcast, the “Touré Show,” where he explained the tension and frustration between himself and Treach. He revisited one of their biggest fights from over a decade ago when the group went over a deal they received for an Australian performance with their manager.
However, Treach had a passport issue stemming from the back child support he owed. “If you owe $2,500 or more in child support, you are not eligible to receive a U.S. passport,” according to the U.S. Department of State.
Naughty By Nature took an advance, and Treach was expected to pay back the amount that went to satisfying his child support debt when they returned home, but that wasn’t the case.
“At this time, I believe, you know, Treach, that’s my brother, he was going through a lot back then, and it was really disrupting the business internally,” said Vinny. “Kay was stressed out, Rebecca [manager] stressed out, we’re like, ‘Ugh, God, we just can’t seem to make this guy happy.’”
Having had enough, a frustrated Vinny punched his longtime group member, who pulled a knife on him. The artist said, “It’s been the back and forth” ever since, and eventually, they stopped talking for two years.
Months later, in July, Treach was asked why Naughty by Nature did not perform during the hip-hop tribute at the 2023 BET Awards a month earlier. He blamed it on scheduling issues and seemed shaky when asked if the group was still together.
“They’re doing their thing, and I’m gonna keep the brand poppin’ over here,” the rapper told TMZ. “So, you know. We do our thing. We’ll see what happens in the future, but right now, I’mma hold this Naughty down, this brand down for the 50th. Hard body.”
Treach also said that a forthcoming documentary was in the works about him as a solo act. At the Rock the Bells festival, the 52-year-old revealed that he was working on a new solo album. Some fans are looking forward to the project but others don’t seem to be happy about the separation.
One said, “ion wanna hear it… the old Treach would neva.” Another wrote, “Treach for sure for sure underrated af.”
Whether separately or together, Naughty by Nature is still working. Treach went on to join the reality series “Growing Up: Hip-Hop.” Vinny and Kay Gee went on to launch and release music as the duo Illtown Sluggaz.
