Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz

Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz is the commercial debut studio album by American hip hop sextet Nappy Roots from Kentucky. It was released on February 26, 2002 via Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place at Tree Sound and PatchWerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, at Soundstage Studios in Nashville, at Rusk, Larrabee West & North and Image Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and at Signature Sound in San Diego. Production was handled mostly by James "Groove" Chambers, along with the Trackboyz, Mike Caren, Mike City, Brian Kidd, Carlos Broady and Troy Johnson. It features guest appearances from Anthony Hamilton, The Bar-Kays, Jazze Pha, Ayesha Kirk, CJ "Voodou" Henry and Tiffany Villarreal.

Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz
Studio album by Nappy Roots
Released	February 26, 2002 (U.S.)
Recorded	2001
Studio	Tree Sound Studios (Norcross, Georgia) Sound Stage Studios (Nashville, Tennessee) Patchwerks (Atlanta, Georgia) Rusk Sound Studios (Hollywood, California) Larrabee West (West Hollywood, California) Larrabee North (Universal City, California) Image Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California) Signature Sound (San Diego, California)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	1:14:50
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Terrance Camp (exec.) Mike Caren (also exec.) James "Groove" Chambers The Trackboyz Troy Johnson Brian Kidd Carlos "Six July" Broady Mike City
Nappy Roots chronology
No Comb, No Brush, No Fade, No Perm... (1999) Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz (2002) Wooden Leather (2003)
Singles from Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz
"Awnaw" Released: December 4, 2001 "Po' Folks" Released: July 10, 2002 "Headz Up" Released: November 26, 2002

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B[2]
HipHopDX	[3]
NME	(6/10) [4]
Q	[4]
RapReviews	(7.5/10)[5]
Robert Christgau	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
Spin	(8/10) [4]
Stylus Magazine	B+ [8]

The album peaked at number 24 on the Billboard 200 and at number 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on April 16, 2002 and later reached platinum certification on October 10, 2002.

The album was preceded by a promotional single "Set It Out"/"Hustla" and its lead single "Awnaw", both released in 2001. "Awnaw", featuring vocals from Jazze Pha, made it to #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The second single from the album was "Po' Folks" featuring Anthony Hamilton, which also reached Billboard Hot 100 at peak position #21. The albums' third single, "Headz Up", charted at #88 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and at #39 on the Rhythmic Songs.

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	James "Groove" Chambers	0:26
2.	"Hustla"	James "Groove" Chambers	3:45
3.	"Set It Out"	James "Groove" Chambers	3:52
4.	"Country Boyz"	Brian Kidd	4:30
5.	"Ballin' on a Budget"	James "Groove" Chambers	3:42
6.	"Awnaw" (featuring Jazze Pha)	James "Groove" Chambers	3:59
7.	"Headz Up"	James "Groove" Chambers	4:07
8.	"Slums" (featuring CJ "Voodou" Henry)	James "Groove" Chambers	3:22
9.	"Po' Folks" (featuring Anthony Hamilton)	The Trackboyz Mike Caren (add.)	4:08
10.	"Start It Over"	The Trackboyz	4:05
11.	"Blowin' Trees"	James "Groove" Chambers	4:17
12.	"Sholiz"	Mike City	4:08
13.	"Life's a Bitch"	Carlos "6 July" Broady	4:39
14.	"My Ride" (featuring Ayesha Kirk)	James "Groove" Chambers	3:26
15.	"One Forty"	James "Groove" Chambers	4:25
16.	"Dime, Quarter, Nickel, Penny"	Troy Johnson	3:48
17.	"Kentucky Mud"	James "Groove" Chambers	4:45
18.	"The Lounge"	James "Groove" Chambers	0:39
19.	"Ho Down" (featuring The Bar-Kays)	Mike Caren	4:45
20.	"Headz Up (Refried)" (featuring Tiffany Villarreal)	Troy Johnson	4:02
Total length:			1:14:50

Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak position
scope="row"	US Billboard 200[9]	24
scope="row"	US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[10]	3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[11]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Woodside, Martin. "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz - Nappy Roots | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
2. Farber, Jim (March 1, 2002). "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
3. Williams, DeMarco (March 7, 2002). "Nappy Roots - Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
4. "Nappy Roots - Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 2002-02-26. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
5. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (March 12, 2002). "RapReviews.com Feature for March 12, 2002 - Nappy Roots' "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz"". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
6. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: nappy roots". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
7. "RollingStone.com: Recordings: Nappy Roots, Watermelon, Chicken & Grits, 3.5 Stars". Archived from the original on 2002-11-20. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2013-01-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Nappy Roots Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
10. "Nappy Roots Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
11. "American album certifications – Nappy Roots – Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz at Discogs (list of releases)