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]

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

Albums

Mixtapes

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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".

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<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.
  6. ↑ "2017 ESHAM The Unholy Interview **FAYGOLUVERS Exclusive**". YouTube. 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.
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