Northeast Groovers (also referred to as NEG and as N.E.G.) is a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based go-go band formed in 1985. Northeast Groovers have been active in the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

, producing numerous songs in the Washington music scene and several hits nationwide, including the singles "The Water", "Van Damme" and "Booty Call".

History

Beginnings

Northeast Groovers was formed in 1985 in Northeast, Washington, D.C., consisting of nine members:

bass player A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low bra ...

Khari Pratt,

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

Lamond "Maestro" Perkins, keyboardist Ronald "88" Utley, Leonard "Daddy-O" Huggins, Ronald "Dig-Dug" Dixon, Larry "Stomp Dogg" Atwater, Samuel "Smoke" Dews playing

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s, and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

"Jammin" Jeff Warren. The group began playing

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

and

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

songs infused with go-go-rhythms at bowling alleys and nightclubs throughout the

(including the Ibex, Breeze's Metro Club, and the Celebrity Hall), and at

music venues A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

nationally. N.E.G. released their debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Van Damme" in September 1993. "The Water" (which samples Aqua Boogie by

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

) and "Twenty Minute Workout" were follow-up singles released in the same year. All three singles were included in the group's 1994 debut album ''Straight from the Basement''. N.E.G. released the album ''N.E.G Jams'' in 1995, which received positive reviews from ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

'' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. In 1996, N.E.G. released the single "Goosebumps!" which became a hit within the D.C. music scene. The follow-up albums '' Northeast Coming'' and '' Northeast on Fire'' were released in 1999.

Present formation

N.E.G. released the single "Dukes Up" in 2014, and is pioneering a new era in go-go music hoping to move the genre in a direction where it will take its rightful place in the realm of music. D.C.-based hip-hop artists such as

Wale Wale or WALE may refer to: Places * Wale, Devon, a hamlet in England * Wale, Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, a village in Poland People * Wale (surname) *Wale (rapper), stage name of American rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin Radio and televisi ...

and

Tabi Bonney Tabiabuè Bonney, better known as Tabi Bonney, is a Togo-born, Washington, D.C.–based rapper. He is the son of Itadi Bonney, an afro-funk musician popular during the 1970s in Togo and West Africa. Bonney achieved recognition in the Washingt ...

have sampled songs by N.E.G., including Wale's for his 2006 song "Dig Dug (Shake It)" which sampled "Off Da Muscle". N.E.G. also provides

social awareness Social consciousness (or social awareness) is collective consciousness shared by individuals within a society.AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

and

inner city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

violence in the Washington metropolitan region.

Discography

Albums

*'' Straight from the Basement'', (Future Records & Tapes, 1994) *'' N.E.G. Jams'', (Future Records & Tapes, 1995) *'' Northeast Coming'', (Listen Up Records & Tapes, 1999) *'' Northeast on Fire'', (A Future Sound Production, 1999)

Singles

*"The ''Water''" (1993) *"Van Damme" (1993) *"The Twenty Minute Workout" (1993) *"24-7-365" (1994) *"Booty Call" (1994) *"Goosebumps" (1996) *"Dukes Up" (2014)

References

External links

Northeast Groovers
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{Authority control 1985 establishments in Washington, D.C. African-American musical groups American funk musical groups Go-go musical groups Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups from Washington, D.C.