Keep up this kind of community consciousness, this high degree of benevolence, and hip hop giant Naughty by Nature may have to change its provocative name.

Then again, if this Grammy-winning group with roots in East Orange alters a single thing about itself, perhaps actress Rita Wilson (you know, Tom Hanks’ wife) doesn’t go viral on social media recently by singing one of its songs (more on that later). Maybe Vin Rock, Treach and DJ Kay Gee - said members of the group - don’t carry enough clout or capital to hook up with a major New Jersey-based real estate developer to offer a substantial contribution in the fight against the coronavirus.

Vinnie Brown (Vin Rock), Anthony Criss (Treach) and Keir Lamont Gist (DJ Kay Gee) and developer A. Donahue Baker will be donating 10,000 surgical masks to Newark, East Orange and Irvington to help front-line healthcare workers in the three most heavily affected municipalities in Essex County. The largest share will go to Newark, which as of Thursday morning had reported 2,093 positive cases of COVID-19 and 92 deaths.

“There is a definite shortage of not only masks, but isolation gowns and disposable masks,” Baker said. “The opportunity came up, we saw the need and through the relationships and Vin and Treach and the Naughty by Nature crew, we were able to reach out to the municipalities and help out where we could.”

That help will eventually reach far beyond 10,000 masks, as Baker, the Naughty gang and some others have facilitated funding for 130,000 units of personal protective equipment (PPE) from a supplier in China. That may sound ironic since Wuhan, China is where COVID-19 originated, but this brand of irony is going to be helping out quite a lot of people.

That initial delivery will be made to hospitals in Newark and East Orange and a senior care facility in Irvington.

“The municipalities have reached out because this is a need they can’t fulfill,” Baker said. “Nobody has enough masks, nobody has test kits. It’s just a shortage across the board. The need was expressed and we’re trying to do our part. This is our effort to make an impact.”

North Jersey-based real estate developer A. Donahue Baker has teamed up with hip hop group Naughty by Nature to donate 10,000 surgical masks to Newark, East Orange and Irvington.

Naughty by Nature has been making a musical impact since the trio won a talent show at East Orange High School in 1987 as a hop hop group called The New Style. Soon after, they caught the ears of Newark-raised Queen Latifah and Flavor Unit and were in the studio and a sensation on tour. The group won an American Music Award in 1992 as favorite new rap/hip hop artists, and was nominated for a Grammy in 1991 for the song “O.PP.” and in ’93 for “Hip Hop Hooray.” Naughty by Nature won a Grammy for its L.P. Poverty’s Paradise in 1995.

“We always wanted to represent Jersey and particularly our East Orange/Newark area and always double down and represent for them,” Brown (Vin Rock) said. "And more importantly, roll up our sleeves and put in work around the way and show all of our young people that you can be from these areas that people deem negative areas.

“We have some of the most talented, intelligent people coming from these areas.”

Brown would know as a lifelong resident of Essex County. He was born and raised in East Orange, but then moved to West Orange in 1992 to help his sister raise her three daughters. He moved back to East Orange five years ago, and has done a lot more there than write songs.

He served on the transition team both former East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor and current mayor Ted Green, each time with the Committee of Recreational and Cultural Affairs. Brown also serves on the committee for the East Orange Hall of Fame.

“I made a conscious effort to move back home. I always wanted to show what hip hop working with local government can do, and I always felt like our city of East Orange was a very manageable city,” Brown said. “It’s only four square miles, toughly 70,000 people. I always looked at it as being a model city for what hip hop and local politics could do together.”

Together, but from at least six feet away, of course.

“It’s a very unfortunate situation; we’re in uncharted territories,” Brown said. "I think right now the priority is that everyone is being safe and practicing the social distancing. We have to flatten the curve and suppress the virus so people can get back to some sense of normalcy. There are a lot of people devastated financially, a lot of businesses lost and the government is scrambling.

“We have big, big challenges ahead of us,” he said. “We have to be here to support each other and get through this together. We have no choice.”

This is a global crisis we’re in here. Even worse for both Baker and Brown, it has become a personal issue, as well. Baker said three people he knew already have died from COVID-19 complications. The grandmother of Brown’s girlfriend died Tuesday in a nursing home. One of his tour managers contracted the coronavirus about three weeks ago, but seems to be recovering.

Wilson (told you we’d get here) and Hanks were among the first full-fledged celebrities known to have contracted COVID-19 when they announced it more than a month ago from Australia, where Hanks was filming a movie. While in recovery, Wilson playfully sang to the Naughty by Nature hit “Hip Hop Hurray,” and posted on her Instagram account. It made a lot of people chuckle and a whole bunch more bop their heads and sing along. Or at least try.

“While Rita was quarantined, she went on Instagram, played “Hip Hop Hooray” and was reciting the lyrics. It went viral,” Brown said. “Since it went viral, she reached out to us and asked if we could do a remix and then we could generate funds to help the corona efforts. We got with our record label (Tommy Boy) and she went to the studio to record it.”

That remixed single will be released Friday, April 10 over all digital/streaming platforms. All proceeds will go to COVID-19 victims and for PPE supplies through Wilson and the band’s partnership with the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Right now, “Hip Hop Hurray" is a festive song being leveraged to serve a somber situation. It is Brown’s hope that someday - sooner than later - the song will once again ring out in the name of fun.

“Coming out of this, we have to get back to some sort of celebratory mood. 'Hip Hop Hurray’ I always felt was like the universal hip hop anthem," Brown said. "As we come out of this and we lift the quarantines and people get back in the groove, hey, we want to celebrate, we want to party.

"We’ve done a great job of supporting each other, and so let’s celebrate life. No better way to celebrate life than a song like ‘Hip Hop Hurray.’ "

Mike Kinney may be reached at mkinney@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter @MikeKinneyHS.

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