Nice & Smooth

Nice & Smooth
Origin	The Bronx, New York City, New York
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1988–1998
Labels	Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records RAL/Columbia/SME Records RAL/PolyGram Records Street Life/Scotti Brothers Records
Associated acts	Native Tongues Gang Starr Kurtis Mantronik T La Rock 2Pac
Members
Greg Nice Smooth B

Nice & Smooth was an East Coast hip hop duo from New York that consists of Greg Nice (Greg Mays) and Smooth B (Daryl Barnes). The duo released four albums from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s. Their first collaborate appearance was on the song, "Pimpin Ain't Easy" by Big Daddy Kane on his album, It's a Big Daddy Thing in 1989.

Nice & Smooth's biggest radio fame came from "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow...," from the group's second album, Ain't a Damn Thing Changed, released in 1991. The song was a moderately somber rhyme with introspective lines about poverty, AIDS, and drugs that was set to the guitar loop from Tracy Chapman's hit "Fast Car." In the summer of 1992, the music video received heavy rotation on MTV. "Hip-Hop Junkies," which featured a sample from The Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You" was also a hit, and it was once performed live on Keenan Ivory Wayans’ comedy/variety TV show, In Living Color. The duo is known for its humorous rhymes and catchy hooks. They often appeared as guest emcees on albums by the Beatnuts, Gang Starr, and Tony Touch among many others. They were represented by Reggie Osse.

Another notable song by the group is "Funky for You", off of their self-titled debut album. As a single it was released in 1990 and contained the following lyrics:

Hey, yo, Dizzy Gillespie plays the sax!

Me myself, I love to max!

Red-Bone booties, I'm out to wax!

Stick-up kids is out to tax!

The line "stick up kids is out to tax" was later sampled by hip-hop group Gang Starr.

Tupac Shakur intended to sign Nice & Smooth to his Makaveli label^{[citation needed]} and even recorded tracks with the duo for the One Nation album. Trugoy from De La Soul paid homage to Nice & Smooth by using each member's rhyming style in verses on the song “Simply Havin'” from De La Soul's AOI: Bionix album. Smooth B wrote rhymes for Bobby Brown that appeared in his debut album King of Stage and second album Don't Be Cruel.^[1] In 2005, he released a single titled "Game Over," which was produced by DJ Premier.^[2]

Discography

Album Information
Nice and Smooth Released: 1989 Chart Positions: #26 Top Hip Hop/R&B Singles: “More & More Hits,” “Early to Rise,” “Perfect Harmony,” "Funky for You"
Ain't a Damn Thing Changed Released: 1991 Chart Positions: #141 US, #29 R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow," "How to Flow," "Hip-Hop Junkies", "Cake"
Jewel of the Nile Released: 1994 Chart Positions: #66 US, #13 Top Hip Hop/R&B Singles: "Old to New," "Return of the Hip Hop Freaks"
IV : Blazing Hot Released: 1997 Chart Positions: #75 Top Hip-Hop/R&B Singles: "Blazing Hot," "Let it Go"

References

1. ^ The Source, August 2007, p. 32
2. ^ Fat Beats