Natas (Nation Ahead of Time And Space, originally Niggas Ahead of Time And Space, also Satan backwards) is an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

best known as representatives of

horrorcore Horrorcore (also called shock rap, horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, death rap, or murder rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from ...

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.

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. In 1992, Natas released its first album, ''

Life After Death ''Life After Death'' is the second and final studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on March 25, 1997, by Bad Boy Records and distributed by Arista Records. A double album, it was released sixteen days after his murder. ...

'' on Esham's

Reel Life Productions Reel Life Productions, also known as Gothom Records, is an independent record label based in Detroit, Michigan most associated with the hip hop music, hip hop subgenre horrorcore. The label was founded in 1989 by James H. Smith and his younger br ...

. 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 ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

and playing

Russian roulette Russian roulette () is a potentially lethal game of chance in which a player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against the head or body (their opponent's or their own), and pulls the trigger. If the ...

while listening to ''Life After Death''. In 2002, Natas released its only charting album to date, '' Godlike'', which peaked at #35 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top Independent Albums chart, #45 on the Heatseekers chart and #56 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. 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. Esham has said in his interview with Faygoluvers, for his 16th album Scribble, "There won't be another Natas album". Mastamind &

Esham Esham Attica Smith (born September 20, 1973), 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 fr ...

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 Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

. Acid rap has been described as a fusion of hip hop beats and

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

lyrics. Esham defined the genre as analogous to "modern day

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

rheavy metal".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

writer Jason Birchmeier said that Mastamind's rapping "owes little to any conventional style". Natas is known for using live instrumentation, as well as for highly sample-based instrumentation, which

compared to that of

the Bomb Squad The Bomb Squad was an American hip hop production team known for their work with hip hop group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad are noted for their dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. ...

and

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

. Natas' lyrics focus on topics ranging from women and violence to spirituality, expressing self-reliance.

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (1992) * '' Blaz4me'' (1994) * '' Doubelievengod'' (1995) * '' Multikillionaire: The Devil's Contract'' (1997) * '' WicketWorldWide.COM'' (1999) * '' Godlike'' (2002) * '' N of tha World'' (2006) * '' FUQERRBDY'' (2014) Mixtapes * '' The Vatican'' (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natas African-American musical groups Detroit hip-hop groups Horrorcore groups Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Rappers from Detroit Reel Life Productions artists Underground hip-hop groups Musical groups from Detroit Musical trios from Michigan 1992 establishments in Michigan