Nappy Roots, the Southern rap quintet from Bowling Green, Ky., known best by their party hard attitude and their down-home, countrified way of life, is scheduled to hit Gilligan’s of Murfreesboro on Jan. 21. Nappy Roots, as many of you may recall, became famous after the release of their multiplatinum album, Watermelon, Chicken and Gritz, released in 2002 under Atlantic Records. Everyone knew, and probably still remembers, the lyrics to its best hits, “Awnaw,” “Headz Up” and “Po Folks” and maybe even caught the remix to “Awnaw” on the Madden 2003 video game.

The group consisting of Fish Scales from Georgia, Skinny DeVille, B. Stille and Ron Clutch of Kentucky, and Big V. of California has continued to morph and grow since its start back in 1995, but DeVille was quick to say that even though their careers have been fruitful, the road to where they are now has not been easy.

“We all stay busy,” DeVille confirmed, with the sound of his own kids in the background. “Our music is our lifestyle and our good results are our spoils of war. We have our own kids now, family to take care of, so it gets hard doing cycles of six months on the road then six months in the studio. You find that after a while there isn’t enough time in the day to get everything finished. Nappy Roots always figures out a way though.”

The quintet teamed up with Atlantic Records in 2002 to release the Watermelon, Chicken and Gritz album, which was a huge success. They stayed with Atlantic to do a second album in 2003 called Wooden Leather, which was seemingly successful as well. Nappy Roots even had a second appearance on Madden 2004 with the single, “Round the Globe,” which was on the last album they did in conjunction with Atlantic Records. After that, they decided to split off and become independent once again, and that was when Nappy Roots Entertainment Group was born.

“We wanted to keep our identity and have complete creative freedom,” Skinny said. “What we do is party hard and smoke weed. It’s important to get f***ed up with other people who know how. We’ve been to lots of different colleges all over the United States. You name it, and we’ve probably visited it at some point. Its cool because it’s like getting the whole college experience without having to go to class. And after a while, you form lasting relationships with these people, so when you return, it’s more like seeing old friends. The college kids are the blueprint of Nappy University.”

The student body is their center for inspiration.

“Nappy Roots loves the college kids because they are at that age where they are happy with themselves,” DeVille elaborated. “We speak their language. It’s important to just do you, pursue happiness and remember that education is the key to success. Why not surround yourself with people like that?”

The quintet has adapted very well to the change in times and have kept up their hustlin’ and grindin’ since ’95. They have even changed around their methods of releasing albums to cater to the upgrading technology, while managing to keep the environment healthy too.

“We released both a digital album, downloadable from the Internet, as well as an album that was 100 percent recyclable. It’s important to us that we leave our carbon footprint and to contribute to the well being of our surroundings.”