*NEW VIDEO* - Nature "Money" - Seasons Changed LP in stores January 20, 2015!

A couple of weeks ago we saw on the blogs that Nature will be releasing a full length LP version of his Seasons Changed EP series in stores everywhere on January 20th, 2014. Details aren't complete at this point but we do know there WILL be new tracks, potentially a remix or two, and a compliation of the most popular tracks from Nature's critically acclaimed 2013 and 2014 Seasons Changed 4 part EP series (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter editions all on iTunes now). In support of that release (we assume) Nature has released a new video for this track "Money" which originally appeared on the Seasons Changed Spring EP. Produced by Sickness the track was one of my dope joints on the Spring EP and focuses on a topic of everyday struggle for almost everyone in the world.... Money.

Shoutout to NahRight for first posting the Money video which was produced by Hostage Media (another dope one... look out for them). Check out the video below and as always stay up to speed on Nature by following him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook....... and stay up to speed with Deep Concepts Media by following them on Twitter as well. Make sure to cop that Seasons Changed EP when it drops in early 2014 if you love classic golden era hip-hop.

Nature, Kool G Rap & Gotham Green - Cross Island Expressway

Saw this one on Twitter and wanted to share.... new track by Gotham Green featuring rap legends Kool G Rap & Nature called Cross Island Expressway. As expected they bring the heat, check it out via Gotham's soundcloud page below. It's a shame up and coming artists don't put together features from different parts of hip-hop history on the same track. You've got Gotham Green, who grew up idolizing Nature on the mic.... and both of them grew up admiring Kool G Rap. The result is a great collabo from Gotham Green's upcoming project child of an immigrant. Read more on that project here. If you want to hear more from Gotham on his upcoming projects check him out on Twitter here. Kool G Rap and Nature are also both on Twitter.

NEW Ali Vegas & Nature - Reppin Where I'm From

It's always dope when two slept on emcees get together for a track. When two of those emcees happen to be two of your favorite emcees... you can't click play fast enough. The good people over at Deep Concepts Media have gotten Nature and Ali Vegas for what from my count might be their 5th or 6th collaboration in the past 15-20 years. Lovers of classic NYC hip-hop fans will remember their first, the dope Nature & Ali Vegas track "It's Like That"). The latest offering from the due is entited Reppin Where I'm From has Vegas kicking things off spitting his wittiest rhymes as usual. The track has been picked up by all of the best hip-hop blogs including Audiomack, Boi-1da.net, DotGotIt, Spitfire and many more. Nature delivers the hook and reminds everybody that Nate & Veg have been putting it down for New York since the beginning. The track was produced by G Sparks and based on his Twitter I can't tell where he's reppin... but he put together a solid beat for this one so I've gotta show him some love. If you love this track get at Nature and Ali Vegas on Twitter and give Deep Concepts Media a follow too to stay up on all their latest projects. Oh and if you wanna hear ALL of the Nature and Ali Vegas collabos hit me up on twitter @QueensbridgeRap.

Nature's "Seasons Changed: Winter Edition" EP now available

While we were busy counting down the Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013 Deep Concepts Media has quietly been churning out more quality new material for Nature's fourth and final installment in the Seasons Changed EP series.... the Seasons Changed Winter Edition EP. The first track that was leaked from the EP was "Brighter Days" by Nature featuring Black Rob. The track was produced by Velotz and has already been creating quite the buzz on the Twitter. Right on the heels of that release was the very dope remix and video to Welcome to My World (called Welcome to My World Revisited). The track, produced by DJ Supa Dave, is one of the EP's many standout joints.

The full tracklist can be viewed and the EP can be streamed / purchased below. As you can see the EP has several dope features from Black Rob to Ali Vegas to DCM's own young prodigy Peter Leo and multi-taleneted producer/rapper Little Vic. From beginning to end I'm enjoying this EP... DJ Concept killed the intro/outro and the production doesn't slow down all the way through with dope beats from Marco Polo (Throw It Up), DJ Supa Dave (Welcome to My World Revisited), DJ Insite (Up in the Sky), Little Vic (Catch Me), Velotz (Brighter Days), Fly Purple (Last Dayz) and Skammadix (No Assumption). Support by copping the EP below via Bandcamp, over at iTunes, or on Amazon MP3.

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #1 Big Blunts

Throughout his career Nature has definitely been known to be an "expert" when it comes to kicking rhymes about smoking weed. His relateable, smooth, storytelling flow has had fans enjoying his smoke tracks since the beginning of his career. Whether it was his first single "The Ultimate High" from his debut album For All Seasons, his classic mixtape freestyles like this gem with Half-A-Mil (RIP), or his recent work with Deep Concepts Media (like 2012's "Fly Away"), Nature has been churning out rhyme after rhyme paying homage to the world's most popular drug. How fitting that his most popular track of 2013 was a banger about the same subject..... puffing on some Big Blunts. As we wrote back in 2013, the track features top notch production from DJ Concept and a great guest verse from Fred Da Godson. The track has gotten tons of love as Nature's latest and possibly greatest smokers anthem.... peep it below. And make sure to cop the Seasons Changed Fall Edition EP on iTunes if you haven't already... Winter Edition coming very very soon.

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #2 East Coast Party

The second most requested track in our countdown this year was "East Coast Party". The track was produced by Little Vic and was released as the second official video from the Seasons Changed: Spring Edition EP. As the first officially released Nature project in a long ass time I know people really appreciated and enjoyed Spring Edition. This track and video embodies the title, as the video encapsulates an East Coast hip-hop party with the full cast of characters from the crew. The joint has a weekend feel to it, with Nature and the crew partying it up before, after, and during the show in the video. This was also the first time Nature and Deep Concepts linked up with Hostage Media for a video and that partnership has led to a number of impressive visuals. Hit them up on Twitter if you need any work done! And make sure to cop those Nature Seasons Changed EP's... winter edition dropping any minute now.

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #3 Metal Bars (DJ Skizz feat. Masta Ace & Nature)

As I wrote back in 2013, one of the best things about Nature's relationship with Deep Concepts Media is the rebirth of collaborations with other artists, producers, and DJ's. Boston native DJ Skizz brought us probably the best DJ collaboration LP of 2013 with his "B.Q.E. (Brooklyn-Queens Experience)". The LP paired Brooklyn and Queens rappers together and had a bunch of great combinations. One of the highlights was the concept track from Skizz featuring Masta Ace and Nature, Metal Bars. The track is a back and forth phone conversation between Masta Ace, who is still hustlin back at home on the block, and Nature, who on the track is rapping from inside prison.

The video follows the same concept, with the duo rapping / conversating over a prison pay phone and a burner. If you haven't seen it I've included the video link below. And if you haven't checked out the full LP... you can find "B.Q.E. (Brooklyn-Queens Experience) on iTunes here". Other features include Lil' Fame (of M.O.P.), ILL BILL, Roc Marciano, A.G., O.C., Steele (of Smif-n-Wesson), Torae, F.T., Cormega, Big Noyd, Big Twins, Craig G, Reks, Problemz, Al Tariq, Maffew Ragazino, Jakk Frost, Malik B. (of the Roots), Rasheed Chappell & many more... Cop it. Support and enjoy! Holla at DJ Skizz, Masta Ace and Nature on Twitter and tell em you like the track and saw it on this blog.

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #4 Summer Breeze feat. Cormega & Tommy 2 Face

This was the absolute perfect track for the Seasons Changed: Summer Edition EP. DJ Concept absolutely crushes this beat, it makes me feel like I'm sitting at a cookout laughing with the crew. Nature & Mega deliver solid verses and one of Queensbridge's hardest working up and coming rappers Tommy 2 Face delivers a smooth summertime hook. Now that it's been over 10 years I think people sometimes forget how these Queensbridge greats have come full circle. Nature and Cormega on yet another track, showing Queensbridge unity. For those who don't know the full story, Cormega was originally supposed to be in Dr Dre's supergroup The Firm alongside Nas, AZ & Foxy Brown. When he refused to sign a production deal with Nas they dropped him from The Firm, replacing him with Nature. Up to that point Nature & Mega had never had any beef, but things heated up when Nature & Nas were doing a radio freestyle and Nature spit the line "mad cause I jacked ya spot" in reference to Cormega. Cormega & Mike Delorian released Fuck Nas & Nature (most of which was just off the top of the dome disses, not a recount of actual events).

Through all of that Nature & Mega never really had any true beef, and years later they first appeared together on Da Bridge 2001. They've both always been quick to show love, Mega has included Nate in a number of his shows over the years, and it has been great to see dope tracks like Professional Style (Cormega feat. AZ & Nature, produced by Alchemist) and Summer Breeze come from 2 of QB's best. FYI - Those who love this Queensbridge Connection probably don't have to wait much longer... Cormega's long anticipated next LP "Mega Philosophy" is dropping later this year and will feature Nature. AZ is on there too. Enjoy this one!

Always good 2 get an email like this from @StatikSelekt : “setting off my show with the Nature/Cormega tonight” http://t.co/e2WhVfAmml

— concept1200 (@concept1200) August 23, 2013

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #5 Time is Money feat. N.O.R.E.

Any list of best Nature tracks from ANY period in his career (scratch that, any list of best hip-hop tracks from any period period) isn't complete without a Nature & Noreaga collabo. Ever since the late 90's Nature & NORE have been ripping it up together. Magic & Bird. Banned from TV. Blood Money Pt. II. Countless DJ Clue and other mixtape tracks, freestyles and unreleased joints. The legendary hip-hop blogger Hip Hop Giant put together one of the best vs mixtapes of the last decade with his Queensbridge 2 Lefrak mixtape. Nature & NORE have kept it going in 2013 with a brand new collaboration.... Time is Money. The track appeared on the Seasons Changed: Summer Edition EP and was produced by Xtreme Beats.

Bout to film my Nilla @THEREALNATURE video no haircut bent and all that

— P.A.P.I. (@noreaga) September 1, 2013

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #6 Never Fallin Off (feat. D.O.E.)

Nature has been slapping us in the face with dope new music lately so I need to get back on track with the countdown! This one is one of my personal favorites.... at #6 in our countdown is a dope joint off the Seasons Changed: Spring Edition EP. The track is called Never Falling Off and features D.O.E. Ya'll may remember D.O.E. from his days of making hits with NORE so it's nice to see him back on the scene and putting down a dope hook on this one. This wasn't the first time Nature and D.O.E. had linked up.... back when NORE released his unofficial 1 Fan a Day LP they had a track on there called For a Minute (audio below, courtesy of YouTube). If you're feeling this joint make sure to cop that Season Changed Spring EP and support DCMHipHip.com!

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #7 - Rock Like This

Rock Like This was the official release from the Seasons Changed: Spring Edition EP. The single had fans excited about Nature's first officially official release in almost a decade. Personally, the track had me excited for 2 reasons.... First the beat, which was dope, was done by a Deep Concepts Media in house producer (Skammadix) so I was pretty thrilled about a Nature project full of dope production. Second, Nature was on point from beginning to end on the track. His effortless and relaxed flow makes the track remind me of something I could have heard during the golden age of NYC DJ mixtapes. For those of you keeping track at home that's BACK 2 BACK Skammadix produced tracks in our countdown.

Enjoy this ya'll and make sure to cop Seasons Changed: Spring Edition if you haven't already... a lot of people including Nature himself are saying that the Spring Edition EP has been their favorite of the series to date.

The spring EP is my personal favorite out of the whole series!

— NATURE (@THEREALNATURE) February 4, 2014

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #8 - Music I Bang

It's probably no surprise that #8 on the countdown comes from the Seasons Changed: Fall Edition EP. Yep, that's back to back tracks from the Fall EP, which as I've already highlighted was the best selling EP in the series (thus far) and has been listed by many as one of the best EP's of the year.

Music I Bang has a very chill beat by multi-talented musician and producer Skammadix, another Deep Concepts Media in house producer who hails from Long Beach, NY. Nature flows over it perfectly, responding directly to critics on his opening line "I'm a Queensbridge ni**a it don't matter where my mail goes / track record long like I'm tryna build a railroad". The feedback we got on this one was that people really loved Nature's easy to relate to lyrics, funny lines, and pop culture references. Who else in the game can keep your head bobbing but make you crack a smile at the same time when spitting one line about victor cruz in the end zone and the next about keeping hoes in the friend zone. He came with solid bars for full 3+ minute track.

For those of you who have NOT had the chance to peep Music I Bang, check out the video below from the Deep Concepts Media YouTube page done by Hostage Media. It's a behind the scenes video from the latest Nature photo shoot (I believe it was a promo shoot for Seasons Changed: Fall Edition) but the background track is Music I Bang. If you are liking what you hear head on over to iTunes and cop the Seasons Changed: Fall Edition EP (or if you hate iTunes you can cop over at Bandcamp). Enjoy!

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #9 - Movie Star

There are a ton of different reasons Movie Star made my Top 10 list of the best Nature tracks of 2013. First off, it appears on Nature's Seasons Changed: Fall Edition EP which was my personal favorite of the three EP's in the seasons changed EP series to date. And apparently ya'll agree with me because a) it's been getting named to "Best Of 2013" lists already and b) it was the best selling EP in the series.

The second reason I'm feeling Movie Star is because everybody loves a dope concept track. On Movie Star we listen as Nature paints a smooth as silk picture of life as part of Hollywood's elite, hitting the best clubs, tearing up the red carpets, and basically just milking stardom for everything it's worth. It reminds me just a little bit of another classic throwback concept track Nature did back in the 90's, Black Showbiz (definitely worth a listen if you haven't heard that one before).

Finally, we love Movie Star because of the beat. Supa Dave really did this thing on this one. He kills it with the samples which set the stage perfectly for the track. If ya haven't heard it already surf on over to iTunes and cop the track (or the whole EP) right now!

Top 10 Nature Tracks of 2013: #10 - Where I Belong feat. Little Vic

2013 was a pretty dope year for hip-hop overall, and it was pretty damn good overall for NYC, Queens, and Long Island hip hop. A huge part of that was due to the hard work of all of the people over at Deep Concepts Media. They had a vision, some dope DJ's, some dope producers, and some real true hip-hop lovers with a dream. Millions of listens, thousands of hours, and hundreds of tracks later we've hit 2014... and we've got a fantastic collection of additions to the Nature catalog to enjoy. 2013 saw at least half a dozen official and unofficial Nature mixtapes and his first official releases in many many years... the fantastic Seasons Changed EP series (Spring, Summer, and Fall).

With so much material to choose from it was pretty difficult to choose my 10 favorite tracks. I had to reach out to some of the fans to solicit opinions.... and I'll be doing a full recap of EVERY Nature track after the countdown is over so ya'll can enjoy em all. Hit us up on Twitter @QueensbridgeRap if you want to weigh in!

Popping up at #10 is Where I Belong, one of the dopest joints on the Seasons Changed: Spring Edition EP. The track features smooth production AND a smooth opening verse from Little Vic. Nature keeps it going nicely on the second verse. The track started to buzz again in late 2013 due to the release of a brand new visual from Hostage Media. Fans are loving the record store... anyone who has been a Nature fan knows the struggle of digging in the crates and searching online for (as DJ Clue would say) that "NEW NATURE!!!!!!!!"). Blogs picked up on this video in a hurry, much love to the guys over at 2DopeBoyz for picking it up first. Check the video below and let us know what ya think. If you love the track cop it on iTunes here.