Treach

Treach
Treach in 2012
Born
Anthony Shawn Criss[1][2]

(1970-12-02) December 2, 1970 (age 53)
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • actor
Spouse(s)
(m. 1999; div. 2001)
[3]
Cicely Evans
(m. 2019)
Children3
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Years active1986–present
Labels
Member ofNaughty by Nature
Websitenaughtybynature.com

Anthony Shawn Criss (born December 2, 1970[4][5]), better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature.

Early life, family and education

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Criss attended high school in East Orange, New Jersey.[6] Treach got involved in the growing hip hop scene.

Career

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Treach formed the hip hop group Naughty by Nature (originally named New Style) with Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee in 1986. They attended the same high school in East Orange, New Jersey.[6] Sometimes he shared verses on songs with Vin Rock, but often, especially on the group's earlier albums, Treach was the sole performer on the song. Examples of this are some of the group's most well-known singles from their self-titled second album, such as "O.P.P." and "Ghetto Bastard". Both songs received moderate success.

After rising to fame for his music, Treach began acting in guest roles on television series and movies. Some of the TV series include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Person of Interest, Blue Bloods. Some of his movies include Juice (1992), The Meteor Man (1993), Jason's Lyric (1994),[6] and a starring role in Love and a Bullet (2002).[7]

Personal life

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Treach is the older brother of Diesel, who is also a rapper and who is a member of the Rottin Razkals, a group closely affiliated with Naughty by Nature.

Treach had a close friendship with rapper Tupac Shakur.[8] They collaborated on Shakur's song "5 Deadly Venomz" and Treach appeared in his music video "Temptations."[9] Treach is a fan of battle rap.

Marriages

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Treach was married to Sandra Denton, better known as Pepa of the hip hop group Salt-n-Pepa, from July 1999 until 2001. The couple had one daughter, Egypt Jahnari Criss (born September 2, 1998).[citation needed] Denton documented the marriage in her 2008 memoir Let's Talk About Pepa, which included allegations of abuse. In April 2017, Treach responded on Instagram, saying they were all false.[10]

According to VH1, Treach has been with his common-law wife Cicely Evans for the last ten years.[when?] They have two children together. The couple starred on season 5 of Couples Therapy on VH1 in 2014. Treach and Cicely Evans married on September 8, 2019, in New Jersey.[11]

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Treach was arrested in Union City, New Jersey, on April 10, 2014. He allegedly passed traffic police in his Cadillac Escalade at 55 miles per hour in a 25-mile per hour zone and attempted to elude law enforcement officers after being given a signal to stop, leading them on a high-speed chase for nine blocks before stopping. He then left his vehicle and ran towards the police car; the officers drew their weapons and ordered him to return to his vehicle. Treach later complied with the officers' orders and was cited for reckless driving, speeding and driving with a suspended license. Officers also found there was a warrant for his arrest out of Essex County, New Jersey, for failing to appear at a hearing related to child support, and warrants out of Union City and Secaucus, New Jersey, for failing to appear at hearings related to motor vehicle violations.[12] He made his first court appearance on the charge in Jersey City, New Jersey, on April 11 and spent the night in Hudson County jail in Kearny before being released after posting $15,000 bail.[13]

Discography

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Studio albums

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1992 Juice Radames' Homie
1993 The Meteor Man Blood
1994 Jason's Lyric Alonzo
1997 First Time Felon Tyrone TV movie
2000 Boricua's Bond -
The Contract Bishop Short
Rhapsody Friend TV movie
2001 3 A.M. Bass
2002 Face Michael
Empire Chedda
Book of Love Jay Black
Baseball Wives Carl TV movie
Love and a Bullet Malik Bishop
Conviction Tank TV movie
2003 El Chupacabra Dr. Goodspeed
F.A.T. Ralf
2005 Today You Die Ice Kool
The Game Is Dead Muta Video
Feast Vet
2006 Park Tow Truck Driver
Connors War Connors Video
13 Graves Inglewood Jake TV movie
2007 Playas Ball Ricardo Perez
2008 The Verdict Reverend Toussaint TV movie
Ca$h Rules Trouble Video
2009 A Day in the Life Armor
The Art of War III: Retribution Agent Neil Shaw Video
Before I Self Destruct Cedrick Video
2012 Zoo -
One Blood Malcome Smith
2013 Atlantic Rim Lieutenant Jim Rushing Video
The Lost Book of Rap Pac Short
2017 Six 2 Six Curtis Taylor
2020 Equal Standard Trigger
For NYC - Short
2022 Vanished: Searching for My Sister Coogi TV movie
Lord of the Streets Jason Dyson

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 House of Style Himself Episode: "Fall Edition"
New York Undercover Sheik Episode: "You Get No Respect"
1999 Oz Malcolm 'Snake' Coyle Recurring Cast: Season 3
2001-02 Soul Food Philky Episode: "I'm Afraid of Americans" & "A Taste of Justice"
2002 Third Watch Vernon Episode: "Crime and Punishment: Part 1 & 2"
2003 Fastlane Cyrus Episode: "Defense"
2005 Law & Order: Trial by Jury Bruno Johnson Episode: "41 Shots"
2006 VH1 Goes Inside Himself Episode: "Yo! MTV Raps"
The Sopranos Marvin Episode: "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh"
2009 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Reginald X. Oldman Episode: "Salome in Manhattan"
2013 Person of Interest Reginald 'Reverb' Marshall Episode: "Reasonable Doubt"
2014 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Lincoln Mayfield Episode: "Let's Make A Deal"
Couples Therapy Himself Cast Member: Season 5
2015 Come Back Kings Himself Main Cast
The Player Reaper Episode: "Downtown Odds"
2016 Love & Hip Hop Himself Episode: "Endings + Beginnings"
The Night Of Willy John Episode: "The Season of the Witch" & "Samson and Delilah"
2017 Blue Bloods Tyrell Green Episode: "Pick Your Poison"
Hip Hop Squares Himself/Contestant Episode: "Downtown Odds"
2019 Growing Up Hip Hop Himself Episode: "A Proposal in the Heir"
2020-22 The Family Business Brother X Recurring Cast: Season 2 & 4, Guest: Season 3

References

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  1. ^ "Naughty By Nature". Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Touchstone. 2001. p. 681. ISBN 978-0-7432-0120-9.
  2. ^ "CERTIFIED". ASCAP.com. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "Rappers Treach of Naughty By Nature and Pepa of Salt N' Pepa wed in Kansas Tattoo Shop". JET Magazine. Vol. 95, no. 22. May 3, 1999. p. 15 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Berry, S. Torriano; Berry, Venise T. (May 7, 2015). "Treach". Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 438. ISBN 978-1-4422-4702-4.
  5. ^ "Treach biography and filmography". tribute.ca.
  6. ^ a b c Hoffmann, Frank (2016). Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900-2000. Taylor & Francis. p. 468. ISBN 9781135868864.
  7. ^ "Treach: List of Movies and TV Shows". tvguide.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  8. ^ Bandini (May 20, 2017). "Treach Flies To L.A. & Wages War To Protect Tupac's Legacy". Ambrosia For Heads. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  9. ^ Hochman, Steve (September 24, 1995). "2Pac's Pals Turn Out for Tupac-Less Video". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  10. ^ Alexis, Diamond (April 28, 2017). "Treach Slams His Ex-Wife Pepa On Instagram". BET.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  11. ^ "Treach Criss & Cicely Evans Season 5". VH1.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  12. ^ "Anthony 'Treach' Criss of hip hop group Naughty by Nature arrested in Union City". NJ.com. April 11, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  13. ^ "Naughty by Nature member 'Treach' Criss released from Hudson jail". NJ.com. April 15, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
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