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Black Nasty was a soul group formed in 1971 in Detroit, Michigan. The group was mentored by Johnnie Mae Matthews, a singer and owner of several independent Detroit R&B labels, who encouraged her drummer son to form a band in the mid-'60s with his cousin, bassist and friends. Initially named Raw Integrated Funk, the group had prominent rock elements early on, with an early member being a guitarist. Under Matthews' influence, they expanded their style to incorporate more R&B. Black Nasty gained attention with a cover of the Supremes' song and subsequently signed to a subsidiary of Stax Records, where they recorded three singles and an album between 1971 and 1974. The Stax sessions, produced by Johnnie Mae and another Detroit soul singer, featured a mix of funk, hard rock guitar, and soul ballads, with Matthews' teenage daughter taking lead on some tracks. The album also included socially conscious compositions reflecting black urban life in the early '70s. Despite their efforts, the album did not achieve significant impact, leading Stax to drop Black Nasty. The group then changed their name and recorded a couple of singles for another label. After some lineup changes, they rebranded again, achieving an R&B Top Ten hit with a song in 1978 and continuing to record until the mid-'80s.
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