Nature | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jermain Baxter |
| Born | December 5, 1972 |
| Origin | Queens, New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Columbia Records, Ill Will Records |
| Formerly of | The Firm |
Jermain Baxter (born December 5, 1972), better known as Nature, is an American rapper, best known for his association with fellow New York City rapper Nas and having replaced Cormega in the original QB group the Firm. [1]
Baxter grew up in Queensbridge, New York, and went to school with Nas. [2] [3] Nas introduced Nature to the public in 1997, as a member of his supergroup The Firm, whose members also included AZ and Foxy Brown. [2] [3] Nature was brought in to replace rapper Cormega, who had a contractual dispute with Nas' manager Steve Stoute. The Firm's first and only album, Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album , went platinum, and topped the Billboard 200 album chart. [2] [4]
The group disbanded in 1997 to pursue various solo projects. In 1998, Nature was featured on Noreaga's single "Banned from T.V.", alongside Big Pun, Cam'ron, Jadakiss and Styles P. After several delays, Nature's debut album For All Seasons, was released in 2000 by Columbia Records and featured a guest appearance from Nas. [2] [5] It reached number 50 on the Billboard 200. [6] He followed this in 2002 with Wild Gremlinz, released on independent Sequence Records, which reached number 150 on the Billboard 200 but reached number 9 on the Independent Albums chart. [7] Three of his tracks were included on the soundtrack of the film Angels in America in 2003. A third album, Pain Killer, was released in 2008 with production largely handled by Scram Jones, Dub Sonata & Mes. [8] Nature released a series of EP's titled Seasons Changed in 2013-2014 under DCM.
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, better known by his stage name Nas, is an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Jones began his musical career in 1989 as he adopted the moniker of "Nasty Nas" and recorded demos for Large Professor. He was later featured on the 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque" by Main Source.
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper. After signing to Def Jam in 1996, she released her debut album, Ill Na Na, later that year on November 19, 1996. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 7 million copies worldwide. She was also part of the hip hop supergroup the Firm, along with Nas, AZ and Cormega. The Firm's sole album arrived in 1997 and was released by Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. In 1999, her second album Chyna Doll, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, making her the second female rapper to top the chart after Lauryn Hill in 1998.
Anthony Cruz, better known by his stage name AZ, is an American rapper known for being a longtime and frequent music partner of East Coast rapper Nas and also a member of hip hop group The Firm alongside Nas, Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature. Online magazine About.com listed AZ as the "Most Underrated [Rapper] of All Time". AZ also made it onto the sites' "Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007)", where he was reiterated as "arguably the most underrated lyricist ever."
Queensbridge Houses, also known simply as Queensbridge, is a public housing development in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Owned by the New York City Housing Authority, the development contains 29 buildings and 3,142 units accommodating approximately 7,000 people in two separate complexes. The complex opened in 1939 and is the largest housing project in North America.
Cory McKay, better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper who attained notice when he was shouted out by Nas on his song "One Love", from the critically acclaimed 1994 album Illmatic. The album was released during Cormega's time in prison, but the mention sparked his career and created anticipation for his own rapping.
The Firm was an American hip hop supergroup that formed in New York City in 1996. It was created by rapper Nas, his manager Steve Stoute, producer Dr. Dre and production team Trackmasters. The group is composed of East Coast-based rappers Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and Cormega. Rapper Nature is a former member: he served as a replacement for Cormega after he was ousted from the group.
Nas & Ill Will Records Presents QB's Finest, commonly known as simply QB's Finest, is a compilation album released on November 21, 2000 and the second release from rapper Nas' new Ill Will Records imprint, distributed by Columbia Records. It featured Nas and a number of other rappers from the Queensbridge housing projects, including Mobb Deep, Nature, Nashawn, Littles, Bravehearts and Cormega, who had briefly reconciled a longtime feud with Nas.
The True Meaning is the second solo studio album by American rapper Cormega. It was released on June 25, 2002 via Legal Hustle/Landspeed Records. Production was handled by J "Waxx" Garfield, J-Love, Alchemist, Buckwild, DR Period, Emile, Hangmen 3, Hi-Tek, Hot Day, and Large Professor, who also provided the lone guest appearance on the album.
Percy Lee Chapman, known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi, is an American rapper and record producer. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City, who helped spawn other hip hop artists such as Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, Nas and many others both through production and influence. He was the first in the Queensbridge projects to create intelligent street music, and is documented to be the first to use the phrase "Illmatic" in 1988 on a record called "The Rebel", from the Marley Marl album In Control, Volume 1, which was an inspiration and influence on fellow New York rapper Nas.
"One Love" is a song by American rapper Nas, released October 25, 1994 on Columbia Records. It was issued as the fifth and final radio single in promotion of his debut studio album Illmatic (1994). The song was produced by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, who also contributed vocals for the chorus line. According to Nas, the title of the song originates from Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician Bob Marley's song of the same name.
"Nas Is Like" is the first single from Nas' third album I Am.... The song is the sixth collaboration between Nas and producer DJ Premier. It was well received by critics as it was a change from the more commercial and pop-oriented singles from It Was Written and Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album. The song contains a combination of braggadocios and introspective lyrics over a choppy string sample.
"Life's a Bitch" is the third single from Nas' debut album Illmatic (1994). It was released as a 12" single on April 19, 1994 by Columbia Records. It features rapping from AZ and cornet playing by Nas' father Olu Dara.
The Realness is the debut studio album by American rapper Cormega. It features guest appearances from Mobb Deep and Tragedy Khadafi, as well as production from Havoc of Mobb Deep, J-Love, and The Alchemist, among others. It was released via Legal Hustle Records and LandSpeed Records.
The Album is the only studio album by American hip hop group The Firm. It was released on October 21, 1997, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The project was created by rapper Nas, his manager Steve Stoute and producers Dr. Dre and Trackmasters, who came up with the idea of forming a hip hop supergroup. The original line-up included Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown and Cormega who were all featured on the song "Affirmative Action" from Nas' album It Was Written (1996). However, Cormega later left the group due to artistic differences between him and Nas, as well as contract disagreements with Stoute. He was replaced by Nature prior to recording of the album. The Album is a concept album that revolves around the themes of mafia and "gangsta" lifestyle. The songs on the album were mainly produced by Dr. Dre, Chris "The Glove" Taylor and Trackmasters, and feature guest vocals from Pretty Boy, Wizard, Canibus, Dawn Robinson, Noreaga and Half-a-Mill.
The discography of American rapper Foxy Brown contains three studio albums, one collaborative album, one mixtape, and 16 singles. Brown made her solo debut as a feature on "I Shot Ya" in 1995. Her debut album Ill Na Na released November 19, 1996, became the first female rap album to chart in the Top 10 of Billboard 200 and certified Platinum within three months of its release. Ill Na Na charted in the U.S, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. She continued her success with The Firm: The Album in 1997 a collaborative album uniting Nas, Az, and Brown. It became her first #1 album on Billboard 200 and was certified Gold in Canada carrying on her international success. In 1998 she released her first single to her 2nd solo studio album Chyna Doll with "Hot Spot". In January 1999 she released Chyna Doll which became the first solo female rap album to debut at #1 on Billboard 200 landing a spot in the Guinness World Records of 1999. It was certified Platinum within two months by RIAA and became her highest charting album around the world. In July 2001 she released her long awaited third solo studio album Broken Silence which was certified Gold by RIAA. Two years later, "Na Na Be Like" despite being a non single from Broken Silence, became a Grammy nominated song for Best Female Rap Solo Performance. Her albums Ill Na Na 2: The Fever set to release in 2003 and Black Roses set to release in 2005 were shelved. In 2007 she was sentenced to prison in Rikers Island. During this time her mixtape Brooklyn's Don Diva was released.
Illmatic is the debut studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Recording, Battery Studios, and Unique Recording Studios in New York City. The album's production was handled by DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and Nas himself. Styled as a hardcore hip hop album, Illmatic features multi-syllabic internal rhymes and inner-city narratives based on Nas' experiences growing up in the Queensbridge Houses in Queens, New York City.
Leshan Antione Lewis, better known as L.E.S., is a hip hop producer commonly associated with Nas and grew up with Nas in the Queensbridge housing project. His first production credit was for Nas' popular song "Life's a Bitch" from the Illmatic album in 1994. He soon produced a single, "Sugar Hill", for AZ's album Doe Or Die. In the next two years, he produced more songs for Nas as well as songs for Fat Joe, Shyheim, LL Cool J, Royal Flush and The Firm. In 1998, he started working with Poke & Tone and collaboratively produced Will Smith's #1 hit single "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It". From 1998 to 2005, he produced more songs for Nas, Big Punisher, N.O.R.E., Nature, Flipmode Squad, Kool Savas, Azad and others.
Infamous Mobb, also known as IM3, is a hip hop group from Queensbridge, Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States, composed of members Ty Nitty, Twin Gambino aka Big Twin and G.O.D. Part III aka Godfather Part III. They are an integral part of the Queensbridge Hip Hop scene, which includes rappers like Nas, Tragedy Khadafi, Mobb Deep, Cormega, Capone-N-Noreaga, whose legacy originated mid 80's in Marley Marl's studio and with him and his protegés on Cold Chillin' Records, known as the Juice Crew.
It Was Written is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. After the modest commercial success of his debut album Illmatic (1994), Nas pursued a more polished, mainstream sound for It Was Written. Produced largely by Trackmasters, it departed from the debut's raw, underground aesthetic and embraced mafioso and gangsta themes. The recording also marked the first appearance of Nas's short-lived supergroup The Firm, featuring the rappers Foxy Brown, AZ, and Cormega.
The discography of American rapper Cormega, consists of eight studio albums, two compilation albums, one extended play, and 11 singles.
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