Natas (group)

Last updated
Natas
Origin Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres Horrorcore
Years active1992–2002, 2005–2010, 2013–present
Labels Reel Life Productions
Members
Past members
  • T-N-T (deceased)
Website AcidRap.com

Natas (Nation Ahead of Time And Space, originally Niggas Ahead of Time And Space, also Satan backwards) is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan best known as representatives of horrorcore featuring the members Mastamind, T-N-T, and Esham. The group effectively disbanded after the death of T-N-T in 2014. However, Esham and Mastamind have since periodically continued to tour together under the Natas name.

Contents

History

Esham met Mastamind as a student at Osborne High School, who gave him a three-song demo tape of his music, leading the two to form the group with Esham's longtime friend, T-N-T, deciding on the name Natas, an acronym for "Nation Ahead of Time and Space", and because it was "Satan" spelled backwards. [1] In 1992, Natas released its first album, Life After Death on Esham's Reel Life Productions. [2] Following the release of this album, Esham, Natas and Reel Life Productions were the subject of much controversy when a 17-year-old fan killed himself while smoking cannabis and playing Russian roulette while listening to Life After Death. [3]

In 2002, Natas released its only charting album to date, Godlike , which peaked at #35 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart, #45 on the Heatseekers chart and #56 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. [4] This was the last album of new material recorded by the group, until FUQERRBDY. Previously recorded material was released in 2006 and 2009 on N of tha World and The Vatican. In 2013 it was announced on Mastamind's official Facebook account that a new Natas album has been planned and after the release of his next album "The Ultimate Price" they will begin recording the album with an expected 2014 release date. This was later confirmed by Esham and then later by Mastamind's label Lyrikal Snuff Productionz. On December 8, 2013 once again via his official Facebook account, Mastamind announced that recording of the new Natas album was completed and was in the mixing stages. Esham, Mastamind, and the official Natas Facebook confirmed that FUQERRBDY was to be released on July 15, 2014.

On December 20, 2014, Natas member T-N-T was killed in a car accident. [5] Esham has said in his interview with Faygoluvers, for his 16th album Scribble, "There won't be another Natas album". [6]

Mastamind & Esham performed as Natas at the 2023 Gathering Of The Juggalos.

Style and influence

Natas refers to its performance style as "acid rap", comparing the lyrics to hallucinations induced by LSD. [7] [8] Acid rap has been described as a fusion of hip hop beats and death metal lyrics. [8] Esham defined the genre as analogous to "modern day blues [or] heavy metal". [9] AllMusic writer Jason Birchmeier said that Mastamind's rapping "owes little to any conventional style". [10]

Natas is known for using live instrumentation, [11] [12] as well as for highly sample-based instrumentation, which AllMusic compared to that of the Bomb Squad and Dr. Dre. [2] Natas' lyrics focus on topics ranging from women and violence to spirituality, [2] [11] expressing self-reliance.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Related Research Articles

Dark Lotus was an American hip hop group based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Formed in 1998 as a side project of Insane Clown Posse and Twiztid, Dark Lotus was a representative of the horrorcore subgenre. From 1998 to 2017, Dark Lotus' lineup changed multiple times, with the most consistent members of the group being Violent J, Shaggy 2 Dope, Jamie Madrox, Monoxide and Blaze Ya Dead Homie.

<i>KKKill the Fetus</i> 1993 studio album by Esham

KKKill the Fetus is the third studio album by Esham. Released in 1993, the album's lyrics focus on subjects such as abortion and murder. The album, which has been cited as an iconic horrorcore album, has been praised for its genre-defining production and lyrics. It is considered to be Esham's critical breakthrough, compared to lackluster reviews of his previous albums. The single "Sunshine" received very heavy radio play nationally. The music video for "Hellterskkkelter" was featured on an episode of Yo! MTV Raps in 1994, and was given out at an autograph signing at Rock of Ages in rare VHS form during the promotional launch.

<i>Boomin Words from Hell</i> 1989 studio album by Esham

Boomin' Words from Hell is the debut album by the American musician Esham. It was released in 1989, and reissued the following year.

<i>Closed Casket</i> 1994 studio album by Esham

Closed Casket is the fourth studio album by Esham, released on November 22, 1994, and distributed by Reel Life Productions/Warlock Records.

<i>Repentance</i> (Esham album) 2003 studio album by Esham

Repentance is the ninth studio album by Esham. Released in 2003, it is his first album of new material to be released on Psychopathic Records, and his second album on the label overall, after the compilation Acid Rain.

Esham Attica Smith, known mononymously as Esham, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Emerging as one of the first ever hip hop artists from Detroit, Esham released his debut studio album, Boomin' Words from Hell, in 1989 at the age of 16. Since then, he has gone on to release 21 studio albums in total and is best known as a representative of the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. In 1992, he co-founded the horrorcore group Natas. He and his brother James Smith founded and ran the Detroit hip hop label Reel Life Productions.

<i>Eazy-Duz-It</i> 1988 studio album by Eazy-E

Eazy-Duz-It is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite very little promotion by radio and television. Three singles were released from the album, each charting in the US. The remastered version contains tracks from the extended play (EP), 5150: Home 4 tha Sick (1992). The 25th anniversary (2013) contains two bonus tracks which are 12" remixes of "We Want Eazy" and "Still Talkin.'"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MC Breed</span> American rapper from Michigan

Eric Tyrone Breed, better known as MC Breed, was an American rapper best known for his singles "Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'", which peaked at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Gotta Get Mine", that made it to number 6 on the Hot Rap Singles.

<i>Doubelievengod</i> 1995 studio album by Natas

Doubelievengod is the third album by Natas, released in 1995.

<i>Godlike</i> (Natas album) 2002 studio album by Natas

Godlike is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Natas from Detroit, Michigan. It was released on May 21, 2002 via Number 6 Records, making it the group's first album to be released on a label other than Reel Life Productions, and their only release on Number 6 Records. Production was handled solely by Esham. The album peaked at #56 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, #35 on the Independent Albums chart, and #45 on the Heatseekers Albums chart.

The Dayton Family is an American hip hop group from Flint, Michigan, composed of Ira "Bootleg" Dorsey, Raheen "Shoestring" Peterson and Matt "Backstabba" Hinkle. Its name derives from Dayton Street, one of Flint's most crime-ridden streets.

<i>Tongues</i> (Esham album) 2001 studio album by Esham

Tongues is the eighth solo studio album by American rapper Esham. It was released on June 19, 2001 through Overcore Records with distribution via TVT Records. Recording sessions took place at Overture Recording in Michigan. Production was handled solely by Esham. It features guest appearances from Brittany Hurd, Kool Keith, Santos, The Dayton Family, Heather Hunter, Jill O'Neil, Mujahid and Violent J, as well as his Natas groupmates Mastamind and TNT. The album peaked at number 195 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States. The project marks Esham's return to his old horror/devil sound.

<i>Life After Death</i> (Natas album) 1992 studio album by Natas

Life After Death is the debut studio album of Natas, released in 1992.

<i>WicketWorldWide.COM</i> 1999 studio album by Natas

WicketWorldWide.COM is the fifth album by Natas. Released in 1999, it is the group's last release on Reel Life Productions until 2006's N of tha World. WicketWorldWide.com is credited as one of the greatest hip hop albums of 1999 by XXL magazine.

Reel Life Productions, also known as Gothom Records, is an independent record label based in Detroit, Michigan most associated with the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. The label was founded in 1989 by James H. Smith and his younger brother, rapper Esham. Since its formation, RLP had released much of Esham's discography, and had been home to a number of other artists, including Natas, Dice, Mastamind, T-N-T and The Dayton Family.

<i>Blaz4me</i> 1994 studio album by Natas

Blaz4me is the second album by Natas, released on January 8, 1994. Allrovi reviewer Jason Birchmeier wrote "like the Bomb Squad's collage-like approach on It Takes a Nation to Hold Us Back and Dr. Dre's neo-P-Funk sound on The Chronic, Esham crafts a particular aesthetic by endlessly raiding his record collection in classic postmodern fashion. Still, even if he unethically creates an innovative-for-its-time sound that merges Funkadelic guitar distortion with hard mid-'80s Def Jam-like beats, the often ridiculous lyrics ruin whatever validity the music may have."

<i>N of tha World</i> 2006 studio album by Natas

N of tha World is the seventh studio album by Natas. Released in 2006, it was the group's first album released by Reel Life Productions since 1999's WicketWorldWide.COM, although there were claims that there was no newly recorded material by Natas, which broke up in 2002. Five songs on the album were newly recorded after Esham departed from Psychopathic Records in October 2005; the rest of the album consists of material recorded by Esham and T-N-T for a prospective Esham album, to be titled Club Evil, that never came out. Despite the album being attributed to Natas, the only track by the group is N of tha World. The other four new songs were "World's Apart", "On My Own", "Trouble & Pain" and "Niggaz Always Talkin' Alot of Shit".

Gary Reed, also known as Mastamind, is an American rapper from Detroit best known as a representative of the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. A founding member of Natas, he was formerly signed with Reel Life Productions before forming his own label, Toxsic Records.

Robert Boyd, known professionally as Dice, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan.

<i>FUQERRBDY</i> Album by Natas

FUQERRBDY is the eighth and final studio album by Detroit rap group Natas. This is the group's first studio album as a trio since 2002's Godlike and first Natas album since 2006's N of tha World. It was released on July 15, 2014 on the newly relaunched Reel Life Productions and Lyrikal Snuff Productions. This is the final Natas album with TnT, who was killed in a car accident on December 20, 2014.

References

  1. ↑ Hess, Mickey (2009). "Esham". Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide: Volume 1: East Coast and West Coast. ABC-CLIO. pp. 411–413. ISBN   978-0-313-34323-0.
  2. 1 2 3 All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-hop . Backbeat Books. 2003. p.  309. ISBN   0-87930-759-5.
  3. ↑ deathofanindielabel 1. Gothom Inc. Event occurs at 11:39. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  4. ↑ "Charts and awards for Godlike". Billboard. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  5. ↑ Group, Sinclair Broadcast. "Las Vegas News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News - KSNV". Mynews3.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2017.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ "2017 ESHAM The Unholy Interview **FAYGOLUVERS Exclusive**". YouTube. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  7. ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "Biography of Natas". Allrovi. Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  8. 1 2 McLeod, Rodd (March 2, 2000). "The Wicket World of Natas". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  9. ↑ Keyes, Cheryl Lynette (2002). "Blending and Shaping Styles: Rap and Other Musical Voices". Rap Music and Street Consciousness. University of Illinois Press. p.  108. ISBN   9780252072017.
  10. ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "Themindzi - Mastamind". Allmusic . Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  11. 1 2 "About.com reviews N of Tha World". Dancemusic.about.com. 2013-12-19. Archived from the original on 2006-03-23. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  12. ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "Review of WWW.Com (Wicket World Wide)". Allrovi. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.