Biography
In the early 1970s Detroit funk landscape, Black Nasty operated as a modestly recognized yet capable ensemble that echoed the Parliament/Funkadelic model through its fusion of rock, psychedelic textures, soul, and funk. The group delivered one respectable album on Stax in 1973, though it failed to move significant units. After Stax severed ties in 1975—the label itself headed toward closure—the musicians rebranded as separate R&B outfits that would register stronger commercial results.
Their guiding presence was Johnnie Mae Matthews, the vocalist who controlled several independent Detroit R&B imprints: Northern, Reel, Audrey, Jam, Art, Big Hit, and Tank. Matthews herself issued more than two dozen singles under her own name, none attaining notable success, yet she remained active on the creative side by supporting her drummer son Artwell when he assembled a band in the mid-1960s with cousin and bassist Mark Patterson plus additional friends. Originally billed as Raw Integrated Funk, the unit carried strong rock leanings from the outset, with Ted Nugent participating early on, until Matthews steered them toward a broader R&B emphasis. Following a Tank single that covered the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hanging’ On,” they landed at Stax, where three singles and one album appeared between 1971 and 1974. Those sessions were helmed by Matthews and Sir Mack Rice, the noted if minor Detroit soul singer who had joined the label as a songwriter and then recommended Black Nasty. While the releases showed more promise than payoff, the album mixed funk and hard rock guitar with soul ballads fronted by Audrey, Matthews’ teenage daughter, plus socially conscious pieces that captured early-1970s black urban realities. Minimal impact led Stax to drop the act, after which they adopted the name Nazty and cut a pair of singles for Excello. Subsequent personnel shifts turned the group into ADC Band, which reached the R&B Top Ten with “Long Stroke” in 1978 and continued recording into the mid-1980s.
Their guiding presence was Johnnie Mae Matthews, the vocalist who controlled several independent Detroit R&B imprints: Northern, Reel, Audrey, Jam, Art, Big Hit, and Tank. Matthews herself issued more than two dozen singles under her own name, none attaining notable success, yet she remained active on the creative side by supporting her drummer son Artwell when he assembled a band in the mid-1960s with cousin and bassist Mark Patterson plus additional friends. Originally billed as Raw Integrated Funk, the unit carried strong rock leanings from the outset, with Ted Nugent participating early on, until Matthews steered them toward a broader R&B emphasis. Following a Tank single that covered the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hanging’ On,” they landed at Stax, where three singles and one album appeared between 1971 and 1974. Those sessions were helmed by Matthews and Sir Mack Rice, the noted if minor Detroit soul singer who had joined the label as a songwriter and then recommended Black Nasty. While the releases showed more promise than payoff, the album mixed funk and hard rock guitar with soul ballads fronted by Audrey, Matthews’ teenage daughter, plus socially conscious pieces that captured early-1970s black urban realities. Minimal impact led Stax to drop the act, after which they adopted the name Nazty and cut a pair of singles for Excello. Subsequent personnel shifts turned the group into ADC Band, which reached the R&B Top Ten with “Long Stroke” in 1978 and continued recording into the mid-1980s.
Albums