- Natasha Walker's group
- October 18, 1994
- Recording dates : November 93 - July 94
Nic Nam aka Nicole Chaney - backing vocals, gangsta rap
Yesz aka Yenan Ragsdale - backing vocals, rap with a lighter voice.
PMP Records is well known to have published Montell Jordan's famous first album This is How We Do it, one year after this album, on which you'll find some of the same Doug Rasheed's producing team. They also mainly produced Coolio albums. Doug Rasheed became world famous for "Gangsta's Paradise" in 95. He also produced 2Pac's "Ratha Be Ya Nigga" and "Only God Can Judge Me".
Video "I'm Going Down" is directed by Jada Pinkett, the all time best friend of Tupac... Could it be possible that she presented the group to Tupac ? More probably the reverse...
The album will be less commercially successfull that expected, despite the good singles "I'm Going Down" and "Chocolate". And despite the very suggestive style of the four women. The way of wearing their pants lower than their underwear could recall the fashion style of the Kriss Kross in 1992 (pants on backwards). But maybe it is a part of the bad success, like Mopreme said in an interview, when they toured with Thug Life in prisons, people were less interested in their singing talents than in their dances and costumes...
The group Y?N-Vee seems to have been formed by PMP. Their first collective appearance is on Johnny J's solo album I Gotta Be Me (Shade Three, the 10th of February 1994).
The song "Don't Leave" known to be a Y?N-Vee's song featuring 2Pac is still unleaked, except for a little 10 seconds snippet (thanks to Banned from Bomb1st Forum). Regarding to the dates of recording of this album, it has probably been recorded for it. And maybe like for Madonna's "I'd Rather Be Ya Lover", it has been taken off from the album due to the coming Tupac's procedure for rape... A pity, because it could have totally changed the commercial success of their album... and their career.
Natasha Walker has been a very important chorist for 2Pac, probably a good friend too, from Thug Life times to Death Row, with huge hits like "Bury Me A G", "Shit Don't Stop", "Pain", "Lord Knows" and "Check Out Time" and also many unreleased songs like "How Do U Want It OG", "What's Next OG" and "Letter 2 My Unborn OG" (in All Eyez on Me times, cf. When I Get Free and Thug Life Volume II), "Is it Cool 2 Fuck OG" and "Time 2 Get My Drink On" for his original Thug Life album and then "Nothing 2 Lose", "Bury Me A G OG", "Where Do We Go From Here" and "R U Still Down OG" (maybe "It Ain't Easy OG" but it is now thought it is more likely a chorist friend from Tony Pizarro who produced the song).
Apart of that, Natasha Walker made her first appearance alongside Nanci Fletcher in Big Daddy Kane's "All of Me" in his album Taste of Chocolate (1990), and with Nic Nam and Nanci in three tracks of K-Dee (Ass, Gas or Cash album out in 1994, probably recorded in 1993). Whilst 2Pac was in prison, she was featured in one song of Watts Gangsta's album The Real, then in two songs of Kausion's album South Central Los Skanles, again alongside Nanci Fletcher. Also with her, she will give vocals for the French rap group Assassin's "L'État assassine", title song of the movie La Haine (cult "hood" movie in France, where the brother of the leader of the group, Vincent Cassel - known for Matrix, Ocean's Twelve, Black Swan, Monica Belucci's husband - plays as the main character who wants to kill a cop - so a Juice kinda like movie, cf. trailer). Again with Nanci, Natasha sings in two songs of the soul/r'n'b singing kid's eponymous album J'Son (published in February of 96 - one of the two song being produced by Johnny J - another song features vocals or just lyrics written by Nic Nam and Vayne) and in one in Long Beach rap group Foesum's album Perfection (1996). She this time alone gives vocals to Twin Loc's first EP It's On and Crackin', as OG Cell-E Cell, a member of the Crips rap group. She almost disappeared after that (she gives vocals for two songs of Macadoshis album Tha Come Up in 2007)... like if the assassination of Tupac killed her career too...
So she was probably a close friend of Nanci Fletcher. And she was also Dr. Dre's girlfriend around that time (c. 93) but she was never featured on a record with him (the fact she was heavily working with 2Pac could have made Dr. Dre jealous and make him deciding to reject "Pain" from Above The Rim movie and soundtrack... that wouldn't be the first jealous).
Nic Nam is said to be the strong voice in "Uppercut OG" (often confused with other female rappers from that time like Yonnie Stokes from Thug Life or Sister Souljah), recorded for 2Pac's scrapped album Mr. Middle Finger. She also raps in "Fake Ass Bitches" (we thought for a time it was Yesz). Like said above, she appeared a few times with Natasha Walker in the albums of K-Dee and J'Son, as well as Natasha Walker (another track) and Johnny J (who produced another song).
Yesz (unfortunately died in 2015). It seems she was maybe more a dancer...
Vayne also very very rare appears in one track of J'Son, and will be singing in Snoop Dogg's "Gangsta Like Me" in Ego Trippin' in 2008...
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