Natas (group)

Natas
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1992—2006; 2009
Labels	Reel Life
Associated acts	Soopa Villainz, Psychopathic Rydas, House of Krazees, Insane Clown Posse, Dice
Website	AcidRap.com
Past members
Esham T-N-T Mastamind

Natas (Nation Ahead of Time And Space) is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan.

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".^[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]

Style and influence

Natas refers to its performance style as "acid rap," comparing the lyrics to hallucinations induced by LSD.^[5][6] Acid rap has been described as a fusion of hip hop beats and death metal lyrics.^[6] Esham defined the genre as analogous to "modern day blues [or] heavy metal".^[7] Allmusic writer Jason Birchmeier said that Mastamind's rapping "owes little to any conventional style".^[8]

Natas is known for using live instrumentation,^[9][10] 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][9] expressing self-reliance and allegiance to God.^[9] Rappers influenced by Natas include Insane Clown Posse,^[1][11] Eminem^[1] and Kid Rock.^[1]

Discography

• Life After Death (1992)
• Blaz4me (1994)
• Doubelievengod (1995)
• Multikillionaire: The Devil's Contract (1997)
• WicketWorldWide.COM (1999)
• Godlike (2002)
• N of tha World (2006)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Hess, Mickey (2009). "Esham". Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide: Volume 1: East Coast and West Coast. ABC-CLIO. pp. 411–413. ISBN 0313343233. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-hop. Backbeat Books. 2003. p. 309. ISBN 0879307595. 
3. ^ deathofanindielabel 1. Gothom Inc.. Event occurs at 11:39. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4O8STbLqnc&feature=youtu.be. 
4. ^ "Charts and awards for Godlike". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/album/natas/godlike/530266. Retrieved 10 January 2009. 
5. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Biography of Natas". Allrovi. http://www.allrovi.com/name/natas-mn0000375162. Retrieved 2008-08-12. 
6. ^ ^{a b} McLeod, Rodd (March 2, 2000). "The Wicket World of Natas". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080708011214/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5923056/the_wicket_world_of_natas. Retrieved 2008-07-19. 
7. ^ 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 0252072014, 9780252072017. 
8. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Themindzi - Mastamind". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/album/themindzi-r503783/review. Retrieved 27 June 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b c} About.com reviews N of Tha World
10. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Review of WWW.Com (Wicket World Wide)". Allrovi. http://www.allrovi.com/music/album/wwwcom-wicket-world-wide-mw0000671449. Retrieved 10 January 2009. 
11. ^ Bruce, Joseph; Hobey Echlin (2003). "The Dark Carnival". In Nathan Fostey. ICP: Behind the Paint (second ed.). Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Records. pp. 174–185. ISBN 09741846083.