Northern State (band)

Northern State
Origin	Long Island, New York, U.S.
Genres	Alternative hip hop, Indie rock
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Wichita Recordings Ipecac Recordings Columbia/SME Records
Website	NorthernState.net
Members	Spero, Sprout, Hesta Prynn

Northern State is a female hip-hop/indie rock group from New York, United States. The group consists of members Julie "Hesta Prynn" Potash, Correne "Spero" (previously " Love," due to her Italian heritage) Spero, and Robyn "Sprout" Goodmark. The group is named after the Northern State Parkway, one of the highways on Long Island, New York State.

Sprout, Spero and Hesta Prynn attended Half Hollow Hills High School West and graduated in the 1990s. The group was first formed as a joke, Spero stating in 2003 "It was hilarious. Could you imagine three white girls from Long Island opening up their mouths and acting like they could rap?"

In 2002, the group released Hip Hop You Haven't Heard, a four-song collection, the songs from which ended up in remixed form on the 2003 EP Dying in Stereo, which was given a scathing review by Michael Idov in Pitchfork magazine. For their second album, All City, the group worked with Pete Rock, Questlove from the Roots, Har Mar Superstar, and DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill. It was released on Columbia/SME Records, but because of disagreements, the group left the label.

Northern State released their most recent album, Can I Keep This Pen?, on Ipecac Recordings on August 28, 2007. They collaborated with producer Chuck Brody of Shitake Monkey (Wu-Tang Clan, Yoko Ono, etc.) and Adrock from the Beastie Boys to make the new album.

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