Greg Nice: Secret Summer Jam King?

story THE FADER

Back in FADER 40, instead of merely running profiles on budding icons like Jim James and Young Jeezy, we thought it would be more interesting to talk about these artists in the context of their influences and contemporaries, each of whom got mini profiles of their own. A logistical nightmare, but shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit, was it fun to write! Especially when connecting the musical dots led us to underappreciated legends like Greg Nice. F40 star Swizz Beats mentioned how “Hip Hop Junkies” was a favorite of his as a teenage DJ and an inspiration on his own crowd-hyping approach to the mic, so we went back to the originator of the funky funky rhyme and the funky funky style to talk about his latest stuff. Unfortunately, the white-label single and Gnarls-y side project Greg was psyched on at the time never really went anywhere. BUT! Fast forward two summers later, and we’re in the middle of a secret Greg Nice renaissance. A GREGISSANCE! It started with his cameo on O’Neal McKnight’s “Check Your Coat,” where he turned an otherwise dubious pop-n-b jam into a radio hit. Next came the hook on alt rappers Time Machine’s “The Unfortunate Twist”, and yet another guest appearance, albeit in sample form, on Nappy Roots’ moody new one “No Static.” (Hell, the current NKOTB reunion even got us Googling “Dirty Dawg”.) With any luck, there’ll be more before the summer’s out – meanwhile, check Greg Nice performing with the Beatnuts (!!!) this Saturday at the Knitting Factory’s “Post PR Day Parade Jumpoff”. And dammit, go download F40 again, unless you hate awesome interviews with Shawty Redd, Ian Svenonius and Cajmere all in the same magazine.

Download: Nappy Roots f. Greg Nice, “No Static”