Natural Elements

The Natural Elements are/were one of my favorite hip hop groups. It's a shame they never released an LP (officially) on Tommy Boy. From what I hear they got jerked, or dropped, or the label shut down or whatever. To read a little more about them you can check this write-up.

I first heard them on New York Live/Halftime (where they were regulars). L-Swift and A-butta would always bounce off each other lyrically, finishing each other's rhymes, and they were up there among people who were able to go off the top and sound good. Personally I like their early shit the best (isn't that always the case), stuff they put out pre Tommy Boy and even pre Dolo. The discogoraphy link on Discogs.com doesn't include their earliest 12"s. Mr Voodoo's 'Come off hard/45 kickin it live' and 'Lyrical Tactics/Hemlock/Shine', as well as L-Swift's 'How it's goin down', were all classic independent label hip hop records. Charlemegne, the producer for the group, is really talented, and the stuff he did with Natural Elements was off the hook. I don't think too many people give him the credit he deserves, if they know about him at all.

Charlemegne made an appearance on the New York Live show in September of 1996, and he played 5 or 6 unreleased tracks from the Natural Elements which were all bangin. I never heard these tracks again anywhere else, and I feel blessed to have been able to hear them.



Natural Elements - Do Your Thing


This one here I'm assuming is called 'Do Your Thing',
and it features Charlemegne (I think), Pacino, and Mr. Voo.