Y?N-Vee (Natasha Walker's group) -1994- Y?N-Vee (PMP Records, Rush Associated Labels)

• Natasha Walker's group
• October 18, 1994
• Recording dates : November 93 - July 94
  

Discogs page

Listen to that album in Youtube or DL here

 

Tracklist

 

1. Even When U Sleep

2. All I Wanna Do

3. 4 Play

4. I'm Goin' Down

5. Screamin'

6. Sonshine's Groove

7. Chocolate

8. Stra8 Hustler

9. Tricks-N-Trainin' feat. ???

10. Y?N-Vee feat. Abstract Rude

11. Real G

12. Gangsta's Prayer

13. We Got A Good Thing

 

Bonus Tracks :

14. Baby If You Want It (Promo Cassette Exclusive n#6)

??? 15. Don't Leave feat. 2Pac ???

Produced by Doug Rasheed, Oji Pierce (1, 13), Brian G & Dobbs The Wino (9, 11) Aaron Pointer & DeJuan Smith (10) and Alvin Oliver (6).

 

Y?N-Vee (or Y.N.V.) is :

Sonshine aka Natasha Walker (main singer)

Vayne aka Tescia Harris, Nic Nam aka Nicole Chaney and Yesz aka Yenan Ragsdale

(backing singing, adlibs and rap parts)

 

 

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".

 

See video sinlges "I'm Going Down", "Chocolate", "4 Play"

Video "I'm Going Down" is directed by Jada Pinkett, the all time 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, 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. Regarding to the dates of recording of this album, it has probably been recorded at these times, maybe even for this album. 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...

 

 

Natasha Walker was a long-time chorist for 2Pac, from Thug Life times to Death Row, with huge hits like "Bury Me A G", "Shit Don't Stop", "Lord Knows" and "Check Out Time" and many underground 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), "Is it Cool 2 Fuck OG", "Nothin' 2 Lose", "Where Do We Go From Here", "R U Still Down OG", "It Ain't Easy OG".

Apart of that, Natasha Walker appeared alongside Nanci Fletcher in Big Daddy Kane's "All of Me" in 1990, and with Nic Nam in three tracks of K-Dee (Ass, Gas or Cash album in 1994, probably recorded in 1993) and in "What You Wanna Do" of Kausion in 1995.

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 Mr. Middle Finger 2Pac's scrapped album.

Yesz (died in 2015) could be the voice of the female version of "Fake Ass Bitches" (formerly attributed to Yonnie Stokes) recorded with 2Pac speaking for Thug Life Volume One early sessions.

Vayne is singing in Snoop Dogg's "Gangsta Like Me" in Ego Trippin' in 2008.