Nappy Roots, Organized Noize Collaborating on Album

Kentucky-based rap group Nappy Roots and Atlanta hip-hop production wizards Organized Noize have joined forces to create a naturally Southern hip-hop flavored album. The two camps are currently putting together their as-yet-untitled full-length project in Dungeon East Studios.

Organized Noize -- consisting of Rico Wade, Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown -- rose to fame in the mid 1990s as the producers behind the sounds of renowned hip-hop acts like OutKast and Goodie Mob. "We've been credited with creating the 'Sound of the South,' and Nappy Roots is considered the 'Conscience of the South,' so it's great that Nappy wanted to work with us," said Rico in a statement. "People are going to be impressed by this album."

The Nappy Roots -- made up of members Fish Scales, Skinny DeVille, B. Stille, Clutch and Big V -- share similar sentiments to working with the seminal Southern production icons. "It's an honor to be working with legends like Organized Noize," said Skinny DeVille. "Nappy Roots is a family and Organized Noize is like our older cousins that we haven't seen in a while, so the [sessions are] like a family reunion. We stayed true to ourselves, but Organized Noize has pushed our limits and taken the music to the next level."

The collaborative album -- Nappy Roots on the rhymes, Organized Noize handling all the production -- will be released as a joint venture via AVJ Records.

Nappy Roots released their fourth album, 'The Pursuit of Nappyness,' independently last year. The 'Awnaw' group dropped their platinum-selling debut album, 'Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz,' in 2002, via Atlantic Records. Most recently, Organized Noize produced tracks on Big Boi's 'Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty' album last year.