Black Nasty

Funk rock band, formed in 1972 Detroit, MI, U.S. Black Nasty's mentor was Johnnie Mae Matthews, a singer who owned several independent Detroit R&B labels, who encouraged her drummer son Artwell Matthews when he formed a band in the mid-'60s with his cousin, bassist Mark Patterson, and friends. Originally called Raw Integrated Funk, there were prominent rock elements at the outset ([a265835] was an early member), but under the influence of Johnnie Mae Matthews, they broadened their style to include more R&B. After putting out a cover of the Supremes' "3589456" on Tank Records (5), they were signed to Stax subsidiary Enterprise, for which they recorded three singles and an album between 1971 and 1974. The Stax sessions (all of the singles also appeared on the album) were produced by Johnnie Mae and Sir Mack Rice, the Detroit soul singer. Rice had recommended Black Nasty to Stax after starting work at the label as a songwriter. The album was a mix of funk with hard rock guitar, soul ballads on which Johnnie Mae's teenage daughter Audrey Matthews took lead, and some socially conscious compositions that reflected black urban life of the early '70s. After the album made little impact, Stax dropped Black Nasty, which changed their name to [a479147] and recorded a couple of singles for Mankind (2). After some personnel changes, the group became [a522586], getting an R&B Top Ten hit with "Long Stroke" in 1978 and recording as late as the mid-'80s.