Nature drops "Ashtray Effect Vol. 3" mixtape via DatPiff

Last week Nature dropped the brand new "Ashtray Effect Vol. 3" mixtape. Mixed by Mickey Knox and DJ Concept the tape is 21 tracks deep and includes a ton of heat including cameos from Dr. Dre, Cormega, Noreaga, Capone, Masta Ace, Tragedy Khadafi, Littles, Typ Ill, William Cooper, Willie Stubz, John Jiggs, B White, BX Bangaz, Jozeemo, Bless and more. There are quite a few rarer tracks on there including a few I'd never heard... And as usual almost the entire tape is dope. Nature kills features and many of these were originally done for other artist projects. The mixtape has already gotten been burning up the blogs like 2DopeBoyz, NahRight, RapRadar and more. Enjoy at the link below!

Nature drops Seasons Changed LP - 20 New Tracks & Brand New Video

Earlier this month Nature released his brand new Seasons Changed LP. 16 of the dopest tracks from his Seasons Changed 4 part EP series from 2013-2014 as well as four brand new tracks never before released anywhere. If you haven't picked up each of the EP's from the series this LP is a must cop for anyone who has enjoyed Nature over the years. Even if you have all four of the EP's (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) picking up this LP (for the ridiculous bargain price of $8.99) is definitely worth it for the 4 dope new joints. Features include Noreaga, Cormega, Black Rob, Fred the Godson, D.O.E., Little Vic and Tommy II Face.

For me this LP brings together my favorite tracks from each of the EP's in the Seasons Changed series (as I've highlighted in my previous blog posts). The full tracklist is below and the album can be purchased at iTunes by clicking here or at Amazon MP3 by clicking here. I'll try and get the full production credits up soon.

1 Best of Me
2 Fever
3 All I Am
4 Time Is Money (feat. N.O.R.E.)
5 Throw It Up
6 Hard Work
7 Big Blunts (feat. Fred the Godson)
8 If You Watch
9 Movie Star
10 Talk About It
11 Summer Breeze (feat. Tommy 2 Face)
12 East Coast Party
13 I Can Tell
14 Never Falling Off (feat. D.O.E.)
15 Long Overdue
16 Money
17 Where I Belong (feat. Little Vic)
18 Music I Bang
19 New Brighter Days (feat. Black Rob)

Among my favorite trackss are Big Blunts (feat. Fred the Godson), Summer Breeze (feat. Tommy II Face & Cormega), Movie Star, Where I Belong (feat. Little Vic), Throw It Up, Never Fallin Off (feat. D.O.E)..... damn I pretty much love them all. Speaking of Never Fallin Off, Nature along with the crew at Deep Concepts Media and Hostage have released a brand new visual for the track. Hostage Media STAYS releasing dope videos and this one is no different. Overall this LP is a must cop for any golden era hip-hop fan. Show some love for Nature, the LP, and for his label Deep Concepts Media. Enjoy!

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: #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

Nature: Seasons Changed Fall Edition EP released Tuesday 11/19/2013!

After only a few hours Nature's new Seasons Changed: Fall Edition EP is already making an impact on the iTunes Hip Hop / Rap new release charts. When I copped the EP this morning he was right behind E-40 in the #3 spot. Pretty dope news. The EP is only $5.99 and contains 7 new tracks plus an intro & outro. From beginning to end this might be my favorite installment of the Seasons Changed EP series to date... right off the bat beats are dope and the lyrics are on point. The first single, Big Blunts, features top notch production from DJ Concept and a great guest verse from Fred Da Godson. The track is already getting tons of love as the latest smokers anthem to come from Nate.




The rest of the EP tracklist is below along with the official trailer, I'll update with production credits as I have em. I'm a big fan of the Movie Star track, it takes me back to the 1999 Black Showbiz days (peep this YouTube vid if ya never heard that track before... shout to HipHopGiant). Fantasy and Miracle are two of my other favorites! My only complaint about this EP is that he didn't lay a verse down over that Outro... I kept waiting. Everybody make sure to cruise on over to iTunes and lay down the $5 to support Nature, real hip hop and a really dope label Deep Concepts Media!


1 Intro (1:15)
2 Music I Bang (3:14) (produced by Skammadix)
3 Big Blunts feat. Fred the Godson (2:55) (produced by DJ Concept)
4 Miracle (3:01) (produced by Velotz)
5 Movie Star (2:29) (produced by Supa Dave)
6 Genocide (2:45) (produced by Sick Luke)
7 Fantasy (2:34) (produced by BP)
8 Magic (2:32) (produced by Sickness)
9 Outro (Candle Light) (produced by PoundAProblem) 2:05

NATURE - SEASONS CHANGED FALL EDITION TRAILER from HOSTAGE MEDIA on Vimeo.

Shout to my homie Chadd over at Life Outside the Queensbridge Blocks

First leak off Nature's Seasons Changed: Summer Edition EP - "Fever" prod. by Skammadix

Hot off the presses from the Deep Concepts official Soundcloud is the brand new Nature joint "Fever". This is the first official leak from the upcoming Seasons Changed: Summer Edition EP which I'm fully expecting to drop by early to mid August. The track is produced by Skammadix and features some top notch verses by Nature. 2013 has definitely been his best year that I can remember for a long time. The buzz keeps building, a ton of blogs have already picked up this joint including 2dopeboys, antisellout, lavalordz, dotgotit, and many others. Listen and download the track below.



Speaking of Seasons Changed..... a little birdie (aka Little Vic) seems to have spilled the beans that we might be able to expect Noreaga and Cormega features on Nature's upcoming Seasons Changed: Summer Edition EP. Word on the street is that DJ Concept produced the joint with Mega (Concept has been crushing the production game lately, pay attention) and both the N.O.R.E. and Mega joints were mixed by Little Vic. All I can say is... dope. I've been fiending for another Mega and Nature collabo for awhile now, this will be the first Nature/Mega joint that is featured on one of Nate's projects and I'm expecting Mega to bring the heat.

After the NORE feature.. I am mixing @THEREALNATURE featuring @realcormega ... Today is a historical day for me as a producer/engineer

— The Closer (@IAmLittleVic) July 15, 2013

Nature - Seasons Changed: Spring Edition EP AVAILABLE NOW on iTUNES!

Nature dropped his first true release in over 5 years today... Seasons Changed: Spring Edition EP. The title is obviously a play on the name of Nature's classic and slept on 2000 debut LP "For All Seasons". If you've ever appreciated Nature's music please take the time to cruise on over to iTunes and pick up the EP for just $5.99. This is one of the few times in the last few years that the MASSES have had the change to support Nature and his music. Just like track #5 explains lot of hard work went into the EP from Nature and his new Deep Concepts Media label and production team. They're all doing it out of straight love for real hip-hop so take some time to give back and support a classic artist and a great up and coming label!

My favorite track on the LP is Never Falling Off, which features old friend D.O.E. Many of you will probably remember D.O.E. from the Timberland produced track "For a Minute" which featured Nature, Noreaga, and D.O.E. The D.O.E. assisted hook on Never Fallin Off is really dope and definitely has me hoping he'll be linking up with Nature and Deep Concepts Media again in the future. The full tracklist is below

Click here to purchase the Seasons Changed: Spring Edition EP!

Seasons Changed: Spring Edition EP
1. Intro (0:25)
2. Never Falling off feat. D.O.E. (4:09)
3. Where I Belong feat. Little Vic (3:55)
4. Rock Like This (3:55) (check out the video here)
5. Hard Work (2:49)
6. Money (3:26)
7. New York N****z (3:32)
8. East Coast Party (3:07)
9. Outro (0:27)

Nature - The Ashtray Effect 2 (free mixtape download)

Coming right on the heels of the announcement of the Seasons Changed 4 part EP series (part 1 dropping April 30th on iTunes), Nature has dropped another dope new mixtape called The Ashtray Effect 2. The tape is hosted by DJ Big Mike and DJ Mickey Knox and has been offered for stream or download courtesy of AudioMack.com. Similar to the first installation of the Ashtray Effect the tape is a nice mix of dope Nature tracks past and present. For the hardcore Nature fans out there I've tried to add some details on each track. The mixtape has been getting tons of burn on the blogs and social media, with features from SOHH.com, HipHopGame, 2DopeBoys, RealHipHopDaily, HipHopReviwsForDummies, EliteMuzik, The 9 Elements, Rap Reviews, The Dope Academy, and many many more.






Ashtray Effect 2 Tracklist (with additional details)
01 - Thug Ali Baba (unsure of release date, prior to mixtape I hadn't heard this joint)

02 - Fly Away (2012 track, produced by Sickness. Peep the video here.)

03 - Welcome To My World (2012 track, produced by SupaDave. Peep the video here)

04 - Spit feat. Red Cafe & Pretty Ugly (originally appeared on the 2001 Stretch Armstrong "Spit" LP)

05 - Love Is All We Need (REMIX) w/ Mary J Blige (1997 unreleased track, DJ Smooth Denali first aired it)

06 - Take It On (Classic, various versions released on 90's clue tapes including one called I'll Fuck You up)

07 - American Dream (2012 track, produced by BP, released by Nature on Obama's election day 2012)

08 - Metal Cuff Links w/ Beneficence (from the 2012 Beneficence - Concrete Soul LP)

09 - Magazine Covers (unsure about this one, hadn't heard it til the mixtape)

10 - They Just Dont Know w/ Madd Rapper & Black Rob (late 90's track that was on the Madd Rapper "Tell Em Why You Madd" LP released early in 2000)

11 - Magic & Bird w/ Noreaga (unreleased 90's heat with NORE)

12 - Itz Yours freestyle (don't recall when this one was recorded)

13 - The Hurt w/ P Dap & Matt Fingaz (Produced by Sha Self in 2000, released on vinyl only)

14 - Too Hot w/ 50 Cent & Nas (appeared 50 Cent's 2002 Guess Who's Back release)

15 - Magic (released by Nature on Halloween 2012)

16 - Something In The Air (track sounds older, I hadn't heard this one prior to mixtape release)

17 - Back Against The Wall w/Reek Da Villian & Peter Leo (produced by Sickness, 2013 track)

18 - Charisma w/ Mercy (2011 joint, produced by Solidified. peep the video here)

19 - Miracle (produced by Velotz, 2012 release from Deep Concepts Media)

20 - Round One (I know I've heard this previously... just not sure where)

21 - From The East w/Rap P (2010 track produced by Live, released in early 2011)

22 - Da Rockwilder freestyle w/ Little Vic (2012 track DCP did for Doo Wop's The Source mixtape)

23 - No Money (Demo Version) (brand new 2013 track)

Nature show in NY on 7/18/12 with The Kid Daytona!

The flyer says it all, next Wednesday, July 18th there is a dope hip-hop show at Halo in Smithtown, NY on Long Island. The show is being hosted by Peter Rosenberg from NYC's Hot 97 and features The Kid Daytona, Nature, Peter Leo, The Day Laborers, Typ-Ill, and music by DJ Concept, DJ Mickey Knox, and more. Holla @DeepConcepts on Twitter if you want to cop advance tickets. See you at the show!

Deep Concepts Media - Meet the Team (Video)

As many of you already know, Nature has been recording heavy with a new crew during 2011-2012, Deep Concepts Media. In just a short period the Deep Concepts team has already had an impact on the NYC hip-hop scene. Deep Concepts Media seems to be cut from a different cloth than most other teams out there today... they're in the biz because they LOVE the music. They've lived this hip-hop shit for over 20 years and they're looking to help bring more great music into this world. That's the kind of label I want to support.

Peep the video below and meet the Deep Concepts Media team. Links to their official biographies per the Deep Concepts Media website (www.dcmhiphop.com) are also included below.


Nature (Legend)
DJ Concept (DJ & Producer)
Josh "Menza" Lauria (co-founder)
DJ Mickey Knox (DJ, A&R & co-founder)
Supadave (DJ & Producer)
Undefined (Producer)
Boogeyman
Sickness(Producer)
Peter Leo (Emcee / Singer)

DJ Concept - Heavy Smoke (Deluxe Edition)

A few months back I posted the teaser single from the DJ Concept - Heavy Smoke LP. It featured the Kid Daytona & Nature on a great track entitled "Get Off My Cloud". Now the full length LP has finally arrived. It is being released at 4:20 today! I've heard 3 joints from the LP, most recently the incredible "Sandwich Bag" track featuring Termanology and Type-Ill. Here is the official description from the Deep Concepts Media website: DJ Concept’s fume-ladened album containing 17 classic smokers anthems. Entirely produced by Concept, it’s a must have for all real smokers. It features Famoso, Koncept (BBAS), Rap P, The Day Laborers, Chaundon, Joe Scudda, AC, Nutso, LIFE Long, Gab Gotcha, The Kid Daytona, Nature, T.Shirt, JR Mint, Termanology, Typ-iLL, Thad Reid, Mann95, Treach, Little Vic, Rich Rivera, Wais P, Roc C, Chuuwee, El Gant, CP, Allstar, Snaggapuss, Peter Leo & Wiz Khalifa.


Click here to purchase a copy!


Tracklist:
Almost Forgot Intro feat. Mr. Doobie
Puff Puff Pass That feat. Famoso, Koncept & Rap P
Half Baked feat. The Day Laborers
Remain Seated feat. Chaundon & Joe Scudda
Herbal Cypher Circles feat. AC
Hold Up (RIP Nate Dogg)
High feat. Nusto, L.I.F.E. Long & Gab Gotcha
Get Off My Cloud feat. The Kid Daytona & Nature
Ain’t Got Time feat. T.Shirt & JR Mint
Sandwich Bag feat. Termanology & Typ iLL
Anytime, Anyplace feat. Thad Reid
The Munchies feat. Mann95, Treach & Little Vic
Feel Alright (aka Mary) feat. Rich Rivera & Wais P
Cilantro feat. Roc C & Chuuwee
Clear Blue High feat. El Gant & CP
Hazel feat. INF & Allstar
Green! feat. Snaggapuss & Peter Leo
Comatose (Live On Sirius) feat. Wiz Khalifa

DJ Concept feat. Nature & The Kid Daytona - Get Off My Cloud

Perhaps some of the best news I've heard in 2011 was the fact that Nature is working with Deep Concepts Media on a bunch of new joints and a brand new full length LP. I'm pretty sure the news hasn't reached the masses yet since the project is still in the early stages. A lot of up and coming producers including Mickey Knox and DJ Concept have already been cooking up crack for the LP. DJ Concept comes through with a hot beat for this track, which is off his Heavy Smoke LP. Nature & the Kid Daytona don't disappoint with their verses. I'm really looking forward to hearing more from Deep Concepts Media and Nature, particularly who they line up for beats. I'd be fine with a no features LP but it will be interesting to see who else might pop up on the project. Check this joint out and be on the lookout for more from Nature & Deep Concepts Media very soon.