In Bed with Treach of Naughty By Nature

The unstoppable Naughty by Nature singer Treach (a.k.a. Anthony Criss) has an unbeatable body and undeniable talent. The group's latest album, iicons, released by TVT Records, marks the duo's 10-year anniversary in the business. With tracks spiced by Pink and Queen Latifah, Treach, 32, is poised for more success.

Q: Your new album, iicons, features some big names. Was that hard to put together?

A: No, actually it was easy. It was all our close friends who we knew personally. So we hit them up. Some we called directly to be on the album and some we called just to come to the studio and listen to the songs so they could tell us how they felt about it. And a lot of times we played tracks that didn't have anybody on them, and they was like, "Who's gonna be on that? And we'd be like, 'You.'"

Q: When people think of Naughty by Nature, they probably don't think of romance. Do you consider yourself a romantic guy?

A: Hell no! Especially after my divorce. (Treach was previously married to Sandy "Salt" Denton of Salt-n-Pepa. The couple divorced in 2001.) I'm nowhere near romantic. I mean, I have my times where I can be, but it's like I'm married to the business right now. That's my first priority, after God and my family.

Q: I know that since your divorce you don't like to talk about your personal life, so I'll just ask - are you happy right now?

A: I'm very happy. Very happy. Very single and very sexual.

Q: What kind of music do you listen to when you're having a romantic night with a woman?

A: I listen to rock 'n roll and hip-hop. (laughs). I'm just kidding. I listen to Sade, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, Brian McKnight, Maxwell, Marvin Gaye. Some might not think it, but you can make a lot of babies by Bob Marley. Boy, the original.

Q: I know you did a nude scene in one of your recent movies. You don't seem to be a shy kind of guy, but was that scary at all?

A: Not at all. They're always trying to get me to show my ass. I show my ass in one of my first leading roles, Jason's Lyric. Actually, I got a movie, face, where they show a little butt when I'm getting up. And in Love and a Bullet, my first real major leading role, I have a full frontal scene. It actually wasn't planned to be like that. The way it was supposed to be, I was stripping for my girl before we make love, and the way they had the camera, they were gonna be seeing my chest up. The only other place they could put the camera was on the other side of the room, and I'm like, "Why don't you put it there?" And they're like, "If we put the camera over there, we'll see everything - head to toe." I'm like, "Well, instead of just seeing me from the neck up, put the camera over there then." As long as the ratings division don't care, I don't give a damn." I feel as though I'm an African running in the wild, 300 years later in America. It ain't nothing to me. I'm not the most endowed man or whatever, but I'm cool with all types of shit like that. I have a little soft-core porn out there that I did. A guy that I knew was doing it and asked me if I wanted to be part of it. But I showed more full-frontal in the movie (Love and a Bullet) than I showed in the soft-porn thing. But it's done tastefully for the ladies that want to watch that type of stuff and it turns them on. I wouldn't do anything that I don't watch myself. I watch porn movies. I get the nude magazines. I love beautiful women.

Q: What's the first thing you notice about a woman?

A: It depends on which direction you find them from. I mean, if she's gonna walk by and you see ass, I'm definitely looking. From the front, you always see a girl first in the face, and you'd be like, "Whoa!" And then you see the rest of the package. Or it could be a walk. A walk is very important, too. If a woman's got that damn walk, she's gonna stop traffic and maybe cause a couple of accidents. I love eyes. I love lips. And I'm definitely a titties and ass man. Because I like to touch all over when I'm doing the damn thing, if you know what I mean.

Q: Any big turn-offs?

A: A stink attitude. You don't have to have a conversation with a man, but at least say hi. If you don't speak, I will bitch you out. A lot of girls, they play it to the point where it's part of their game. They like the chase. I don't like chasing. I'll put in some work if I'm interested, but if you gave me a stink attitude, it's a wrap. You only get one chance to make the first impression.

Q: What's the sexiest thing a woman's ever done for you?

A: Bring another woman in bed with us. After that, I was hooked.

Q: What's the strangest encounter you've had with a fan?

A: There's a lot of crazy ones out there. They be leaving their man in a spot to run back tot he hotel to see me. A lot of times a woman don't expect to see me at the spot I'll be at. They ask how long I'll be in town, and I'll say, "Just for tonight." Then they'll do whatever they gotta do to handle business right then.