What, You Thought Natural Elements Would Release a New Record and I Wouldn't Cover It?

Natural Elements are back with a new album.  Even though they first came out in 1994, this is almost kind of their first full-length album, if you want to get kind of arbitrary and pedantic about how you count 'em.  You know, if you were super strict about discarding EPs and compilations.  My point is: we don't get nearly enough from these incredibly talented guys, especially all working together, so it's a big deal when this happens.  A full-length album of all new music by the full crew on vinyl (and CD).

That also puts them in a tough spot.  By releasing just the rare killer 12" every once in a while, and continually re-releasing their best known songs, it kind of puts them in competition with their greatest hits.  Your average artist may release an project every year or two, and we look at it and say, okay, this one's a little better than their last one, or maybe a slight step backwards or whatever.  But when I first put this one on the turntable I'm asking myself how it's going to hold up against "Paper Chase" and "Magnetic."  It's not a deliberate challenge I'm posing; you just can't help it.

So honestly my first listen was just a relief that the magic is still here.  The slick way they ride the rhythm, the clever way they pack complex and original series of rhymes into their bars.  The same way they got you geeking off of their style on tracks like "Lyrical Tactics" and "2 Tons" they do here.

Not that it's a total surprise.  They have been releasing dope music online and various side/ solo projects.  So it's not like we haven't heard from these guys since their heyday and we're wondering what they were capable of now.  In fact, that's largely how this album came about.  The title is Death Comes In 3s, well partially 'cause there's three of them, but really because they've been releasing a series of 3-song digital EPs.  Three EPs.  And now that they've put them all out, they gathered them together into one complete LP.

Another thing that makes a great Elements record, of course, is their production.  They're brilliant MCs, but the fact that they keep marrying their flows to the seemingly perfect tracks is essential.  And thank goodness, that's back, too.  About half of it is, yes, produced by Charlemagne, who's been behind them for so long, so consistently, for all their greatest hits that I honestly feel he's the fourth member.  So I would've been pretty bummed if he wasn't on board here.  In fact, it's a slight disappoint that he only produced half of these tracks, leaving the rest to be handled by relative unknowns J. Armz, Haydn3000, Joe Nights and GxBxT.  But it's only slight, because these guys manage to live up to the expectations Charlemagne set for them.  Joe Night's "Royalty" feels like a traditional NE track, and while Haydn3000's "We All Kings" and his Wu-Tangy "Feel" do have a different vibe to them, they're still really good, and bring a slightly less polished, street energy back to the crew that they used to have back when KA was a member.  Though I'm glad they let Charlemagne close it out with "Cream Of the Crop," which even with an R&B-sung hook really brings back their pure sound.

Not that it's all pure perfection.  There's the occasional creaky punchline like, "she treated me like a Garbage Pail Kid.  (How's that?)  She blew my head off."  "#Tribevibes," a track dedicated to A Tribe Called Quest, using some of their famous instrumentals, is a cool, fun track.  But they don't do Tribe as well as Tribe did Tribe, so it makes you just want to go back and listen to their originals.  So it's an amusing experiment, and fine as album filler, but comes off a little neutered compared to NE doing their own thing on all cylinders.  Honestly, that's one they could've left on Youtube and given us a crack at something like "Competition is NoNE" on vinyl instead.  But oh well.  It's still a good song, I can't really complain.

So this is a nine track album, but the physical versions include bonus tracks.  Both the vinyl and CD include the most exciting one, "Vroom (NEMix)."  "Vroom" is a Swigga solo track he released back in 2017, and just included it on his latest solo album, Sunset Mindset (which Hip Hop Enterprises has also released on both CD and vinyl).  It's a heavy Charlemagne track, and this remix uses the same beat, but turns it into a posse cut with all three Elements getting busy on there now.  I remember being excited by it when they first put it out online, and I'm excited to finally have it on vinyl now.

Then the CD also has one more bonus track, "DroNEs."  This one has them spitting over "Clones," one of The Roots' hardest hitting instrumentals that proved they were more than just a short-lived flash in the pan back in '96.  When I first heard about it, I thought it might be another dedication song like "#Tribevibes."  Then A-Butta starts it off sounding like it's going to be a topical song about paranoia and surveillance.  but in the end, it breaks down into just three freestyle verses.  That's okay, though, because these guys flexing skills over a great Hip-Hop track is more than enough.  But it's one of those where you also don't feel like you've missed the boat if you copped the vinyl instead of the CD.

Hip Hop Enterprises is behind the two versions, both of which are limited.  There's only 350 copies of the CD and 500 copies of the LP, which is split into 150 split black and white (white) vinyl, 150 black and white (white) splatter vinyl (exclusive to HHV.de) and 200 classic black.  All three come in a full picture covers with hand-numbered stickers.  Mine is #94/200.  Overall, it might not quite reach the peaks of its singles, but I'd say Death is even stronger than their unreleased Tommy Boy album, and as much of a must-have for any proper Elements fan.

Natural Elements' 1999, Give Or Take a Few

Hey, remember when Natural Elements were finally releasing their long-shelved Tommy Boy album on vinyl for its tenth anniversary through Traffic Entertainment?  And then Traffic dropped out, and they wound up releasing a CD-only version that included about two thirds of the album and filled the rest with a bizarre, patchwork mix of older material?  Well, now it's their twentieth anniversary and they're here to do it right...er.  It's still kinda screwy.  But they've made genuine improvements.  It's definitely good news overall.

So let's start on the positive side.  1999: 20 Year Anniversary is on vinyl!  Yes, you can now finally, after all these years, get these songs on wax.  A double LP even.  And it comes in a cool gatefold cover, and if you really want to splurge, you can order the more limited colored vinyl options.  Specifically, there are 100 copies pressed on three striped color vinyl, 100 pressed on blue, white (white) and orange splatter vinyl (the stripes are the same three colors), and another 300 on your basic black.  Oh and there's also a CD version.

Now let's step into the disappointing... it's still mostly the same weird track-listing they made for the tenth anniversary CD, where they leave off several of the still unreleased Tommy Boy songs and fill that space with their most common, greatest hits material most NE fans already have (the credit in the liner notes saying, "all tracks recorded in NYC in 1999" is just wrong).  And the ones that don't could get them if they chose, unlike the still unreleased songs, which none of us can get.

But I said "mostly," because they did make an interesting change or two.  First of all, they've re-arranged the track-listing to put the intro back at the beginning, a nice little correction of the tenth anniversary, which curiously stuck it at the end.  But more critically, they've taken off the song "MTV (More Than Vocals)" and replaced it with the never officially released "Life Ain't Fair."  To be clear, this is the original version with the hook sung by Bridge that I first wrote about in my article for Hip Hop Connection and that wound up on that hard to find bootleg with the Truck Turner songs.  This is not the version Chopped Herring gave a proper release to on the first of their amazing Demo EPs.

This is a strange decision, which on the scales I suppose leans more to the pro than the con, but could've easily been a lot more pro.  This is the first official release of that "Life Ain't Fair," and it's on vinyl, so that's pretty sweet.  And taking "MTV" off makes sense, since it was never intended to be on that Tommy Boy album (it was recorded years later).  But "MTV" has never been released on vinyl, and it would've been nice to get it on wax now, even if it's not really a proper 1999 track.  After all, about a third of what's on here, including "Life Ain't Fair," isn't a proper 1999 track.  And again, there are plenty of songs on here that have been readily available on vinyl already for decades that they could've swapped off instead.  "Bust Mine" or "Paper Chase," for example, are super easy to find on 12", nice and inexpensive, and they weren't from 1999 either.  With that said, though, since "MTV" was at least on the CD, and "Life Ain't Fair" has never seen a proper release, I do prefer getting "Life" to "MTV."  It's a change for the better.  It's just a Sophie's Choice we shouldn't have had to make.

But don't let my criticisms land too hard.  A new double-LP of incredible Natural Elements music, most of which has never been released on vinyl before?  That's awesome news and everyone reading this should cop it.  I just wish they had the courage not to buoy these up with their greatest hits.  They definitely don't need to, and it means those last six songs from their 1999 Tommy Boy album are still abandoned in the vault.  Of course... just one more, little wafer-thin 12" EP could fix all that for all time, and we fans would gobble it up.  Just sayin'.  😉

Even More Elusive Mr. Voodoo Demos From Our Heroes At Chopped Herring Records

Two years ago, I wrote about a tight Chopped Herring EP of unreleased Mr. Voodoo demo tracks.  Well, this summer, they're re-releasing New York Straight Talk: The Elusive Demos on CD.  But what's interesting about it is that the track-listing's different.  And I don't just mean that the songs are in a different order, although that's a little true, too.  But the original vinyl EP was seven tracks long, and this one's nine.  So, two new bonus tracks?  No, three in fact, because one song has been taken off.  And all three of these new tracks are previously unreleased; they didn't just throw "Come Off Hard" on here to fill up space or something.

So the track that isn't here is "Betta Duck," which kind of makes sense, since it was labeled as a "bonus track" on the 2015 version.  It was still dope, but far from the best song on there and was newer than all the vintage '94-'95 era stuff that comprised the rest of the EP.  And this way I guess vinyl heads don't feel burned, because their original EP still has something exclusive.  But, really the big question is what's new on the 2017 version?

1. Live It Up (Original Version) - This one's interesting, because "Live It Up" was a Natural Elements song from their stint on Tommy Boy; it was even on the Black Mask soundtrack.  But this one here is a Mr. Voo solo track, and he doesn't even kick his bars from the Tommy Boy version (or "Live It Up Part 2").  But this does have a rough, solo version of the same chorus, so I guess this is where they took the concept from.  It has a much slower, calmer feel, with Voo basically rhyming over the instrumental to Red Hot Lover Tone's "#1 Player," with some deeper bass.  On the one hand, it's definitely not as dynamic as the Tommy Boy version, but on the other hand, it's basically an all new song, not just like a demo version with a different drum track or something.

2. Unknown Demo - Yup, I don't know what this is either.  It sounds more like 2000's material than 90's material, though.  I guess "Betta Duck" and all three of these new tracks are essentially more modern bonus tracks, as opposed to their classic era material.  It's a kind of basic but respectable, slower NY street beat kind of track, and Mr. Voodoo comes off well like he always does, with some nice rhymes and a pointed Special Ed reference; but he doesn't use the sick, staccato flow his fans love him for.  The hook is just an extra instrumental sample, so it doesn't give you much to even guess at a title.

3. Let the World Know (Demo Version) - Now, this is one of those Mr. Voodoo demos we've all been waiting for.  "Let the World Know," of course, is the title track of his 2004 EP, and it's okay.  But there's always been a rough sounding (presumably a radio rip) of a tighter original version over Nas's "On the Real" beat.  And this is it.  Longer and in restored sound quality, finally sounding like a proper song.  Why is it longer?  Well, comparing them now, it's obvious the leaked version was clumsily chopping out the hook and other little sections (maybe for one of those old NE mixtapes?).  Uncut, the Chopped Herring version restores about two minutes.  So that's great to finally get, and the most exciting of the three.  It sounds a little slow, though?  I pitched it up a little bit, and it sounded better to my eat, but maybe I'm just forcing it to match the pitch of those old demo rips that could well have been wrong to begin with.  Either way though, I recommend experimenting with speeding it up and see what you think.

Update 8/13/17: Thanks to KayeMPee for pointing this out in the comments! There's another nice bonus to this CD: the track "Pen Hits the Paper," which is on both the vinyl and CD, is a little longer and restored on the CD.  On the old rips that we've had for ages, it's a three verse song (the last verse starts, "when my pen hits the paper, MCs disappear into vapor..."), but every version I've ever cut stops abruptly at the last word, before the hook can start again, cut off.  And I guess the source material CH had to work with had the same problem, so they faded out after the second verse like that was the end of the song.  Well, this CD version restores that last verse, but still fades out around where the other rips "break."  The sound quality is immensely improved (on both the vinyl and CD), so they're obviously working with a much better source than those rips, but that source must be damaged, too.  To be clear, this CD ends awkwardly, too, cutting off the very end of the song... but still restoring the third verse missing from the vinyl.  So it's not perfect, but it's a big improvement.

So yes, this CD is definitely good news.  And now you know, even if you bought the 2015 record, don't think there's no reason to scoop this up, too.  We just got three more lost demo tracks restored, which is also a nice sign that the well still isn't dry and there's still hope for more material, that we both have and haven't heard of before, coming to light.  Right on.  Every time Chopped Herring recovers another lost Natural Elements track, an angel gets its wings.

Blowing the Dust Off Mr. Voodoo's Long-Lost Demos

Woohoo! Chopped Herring is back with their, umm... fourth?  Wait, let me count. One, two, three and now four. Yup, their fourth Natural Elements EP release! This time around, though, it's focused on just one member. They've uncovered, cleaned up and pressed Mr. Voodoo's 1994-1995 demos on wax.

Now, any NE fans how've been in this for the long haul probably thought to themselves, well, I'm familiar with some great, unreleased Mr. Voodoo demo songs - are these them? And the answer is yep, pretty much!  =)  As the emoticon there suggests, though, that's a very good thing. This is some seriously long-awaited material that's been floating around the tape trading fringes for a long time. Most of these songs are online in terrible, low quality and have been for years. And I mean really low quality, where the hiss is actually louder than the song itself, the kind of Xth generation dub of a radio broadcast of a cheap cassette that literally hurts you to listen to it, but you did anyway, because Mr. Voo was blowing your mind as a lyricist.

So do we want to get into this song by individual song? Well, I don't know if we really need to get into every tiny little detail of - are you kidding? Of course we're going to break this down song by song! Let's go!

"New York Straight Talk" - I don't really remember this one, but it has been around in those junky rips. The track has a really cool, interesting sound that's a little richer and more musically layered than you'd expect from an old Voodoo track, and a nice EPMD vocal sample for a hook. It's a great foundation for a calmer, more introspective flow than we're used to from this man. The drums are pure traditional NE-style, though; and the old sleigh bells are in full effect.

"G.L.O.C.K." - This is the one I really remember. This is the one, when I first heard Chopped Herring was releasing Mr. Voodoo's demos, I immediately checked if this was on there. Spoilers: it is. He kicks a tight "Lyrical Tactics"-style flow over a dark, grumbling bassline. There's a g-funk inspired whistle sound over the hook; but otherwise this is very gritty NY-style that couldn't be further from Warren G or those kinda guys. Heavy sleigh bells again, too. Ha ha

"Runnin From My Magic" - This is the obvious chorus, sampled from the classic Brother J vocal sample you know nobody named Voodoo could resist using. I definitely remember this one, too, and I'm really happy to see it restored here. It's got an almost eerie, ominous vibe, not even any sleigh bells.

"New York Straight Talk (Remix)" - An alternate version of the A-side opener, also produced by Charlemagne. This is a more smoothed out version, with very early 90s vibes that a ton of artists were using for a very brief period of time. I prefer the original, but this is a nice alternative, and 90s heads will probably get an extra nostalgic kick from the sample selection.

"Pen Hits the Paper" - Yeah, I remember this one, too. It's got the slightly jazzy vibes of the last track, but couples it with a more boom bap sound and Voodoo just spitting freestyle rhymes. Listening to this pressing for the first time, I just thought yeah, this is exactly what us fans are here for. This EP is 100% delivering. ...Or maybe 90% in this case, because this version is only two verses long, and past versions have had three. But 90 is still great!

"I Come With Skills" - This is the only one not produced by Charlemagne. DJ LDR provides a good backing for Voodoo, too; but it does stand out from the rest, lacking that signature NE sound the rest of this EP has; so it's good that they saved it for the end. Last but not left off, because it's still a dope Wu or "Tried By 12" inspired track with Mr Voodoo killing it.

"Betta Duck" - Okay, technically THIS is last; and it's back to Charlemagne production again. But this is labeled as a bonus track, and that's because it's not a '94-'95 demo track like everything else on here. It's a 2001 recording, and isn't as good as the rest; but it's still a nice little cut with some cool scratching on the chorus.

Like all the previous EPs, this record is limited to 350 copies. 75 copies were pressed on white (white) vinyl, 75 on gold, and the remaining 250 on standard black. They all come in the sticker cover, pictured above, and sound great. I mean, there is a little bit of a limited range, muffled feel to the audio which suggests these tracks were taken from a cassette. I noticed it most on "G.L.O.C.K." It's not a perfect, crystal high fidelity sound, but it's clearly been mastered to sound the best it possibly can and is a huuuuge, huge, huge improvement on the terrible recordings we've heard before. We're talking about the difference between a little imperfect vs. awful; fans will be very pleased with this vinyl.

Now this EP doesn't represent ALL of Mr. Voodoo's vintage demos. I've heard stuff like "Magic," an alternate version of "Hemlock" with different lyrics, and "Chryme Life" comes to mind. [Oh, and if you're thinking, waitaminute, didn't he release that in 2000, Werner? That's right, but there's an older demo version that's even better.] And there's like a whole unofficial Mr. Voodoo album that's been floating around that's a little bit newer (end of the 90s, early 2000s) that never got an official release. One thing I've learned about following these guys is they recorded an incredible amount of killer material, even though they didn't release so much back in the days. So Chopped Herring's work isn't done; there's still more for them to track down, polish off and get out into the world. And I'm here rooting for them to pull it off. But this was just a great big step forward, that's for sure.

The Last(?) Piece in the Natural Elements Demo Puzzle

I first found out about this record in 2009. And I just finally got a copy today. It's a very bootleggy white label 12" that features the two most prominent, as yet officially unreleased Natural Elements demo tracks. It's also a split 12", and those NE tracks are on the B-side.  So since I want to give thorough coverage to every record I write about, let me just go over the A-side real quick before we get to the juicy stuff.

The A-side features two songs by Truck Turner, an indie artist named after an Isaac Hayes blaxploitation flick who came out under Krs One's wing and wound up signing to Jive. In fact, it's an exact copy of his first, indie 12" [see: left]. The first track, "Bring It To the Cypher (Main Mix)," is exactly the same as the original A-side, "Cypher Street," and the second track, "Can I Bitch (Main Mix)," is of course that 12"'s B-side, "CanIBitch." "Cypher" is a cool duet with Krs One over a traditional old school Kraftwerk sample, that's been used by everybody from Afrika Bambaataa to Dr. Dre; but it's usage here sounds the most like Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's "Rhymes I Express."

And the second song, or the B-side on the original 12", is Truck going at Canibus just as he was coming up, presumably to cash in on the attention and controversy he was generating for beefing with LL Cool J and others; but in the song he claims he's "striking back" because Canibus said something about BDP. It's not a particularly effective diss track at any rate, Canibus certainly never bothered to respond, and he's the guy who's recorded eleven hundred songs at Eminem, desperately trying to get just one answer record's worth of publicity back.  It's moderately interesting, though, that one of the lines in the song is, "look both ways before you cross me," which four years later became the title of his album.

Despite this white label referring to its songs as "(Main Mix)"es, neither record features any other version or mix of the two songs. They're both the full, vocal and uncensored mixes. And comparing the sound quality, there's really no discernible difference, except the pitch is a little slower on the bootleg. I've heard it described as being bassy, but I think that's just because it's playing a little slower, so all the voices and beats sound a bit deeper. If you've got a turntable with pitch control, you can make them sound identical. And while the difference doesn't exactly take a trained ear to detect, you probably wouldn't notice it's slower unless you were directly comparing the two versions like I've just been doing.

I wanted to pay careful attention to the sound quality there because we're going to be a lot more concerned with it now that we've gotten to the songs on the B-side.

Now, I've mentioned in my write-ups of Chopped Herring's EPs that these two songs were as yet unreleased and would look nice on one of their Lost Demos EPs.  But this 12" is probably at least part of the reason the gas hasn't bit hit so hard to get them out there.  They're already on vinyl and sound fine.

First up is 'Life Ain't Fair (Main Mix)." Yeah, they keep up that "Main Mix" thing on the NE side, but this time the "Main Mix" moniker might inadvertently mean something. Because, as you'll recall, while "Life Ain't Fair" dates all the way back to my old Natural Elements snippet tape from early in their career. it's only full release has been on Chopped Herring's The Lost Demos EP Vol. 1, where it was included as a very different "Original Mix" in 2011. That version was quite different with a tough, hip-hop beat and alternate hook compared to the one I'd heard a portion of on my tape. Well, I'm happy to report that this white label gives us that missing version, the smoother one with the R&B chorus sung by a guy named Bridge.

And the other song is "Knick Knack!" Erm, "(Main Mix)." Yeah, the song that's been floating around, often split into two tracks, ever since the old tape trading days. The one where they rock EPMD & K-Solo's classic, throwing their skillful, modern flows over the old school's banging track. The fan favorite that had never been released.

And the NE tracks sound just as good as the Truck Turners. You might want to pitch it up a percent or two (it's harder to say since I don't have a mirror image 12" to compare the NE side to), but otherwise it sounds more than acceptable. There's no tape hiss or distorted bass, volume issues or any of the other problems that often plague bootlegs. If Chopped Herring got their hands on the original masters, could they make it sound better? Probably a little. And of course that hypothetical release would be an official, legit record that the artists would get paid off of and all. But honestly, this sounds just fine, as good as many legit releases. I certainly wasn't expecting something of this quality.

Of course, you'll have to find a copy. Remember how I said I heard about it in 2009 and got my hands on one in 2014? Granted, I passed up an opportunity or two to pay crazy high prices for it during that time, but still. This record is definitely not abounding and plentiful. But is it worth it for the serious NE fans - two exclusive, vintage gems on wax? No question.

Natural Elements, Old To the NEw

Chopped Herring, I think I love you. Continuing their divinely inspired partnership with the Natural Elements crew, they've now dropped their third jewel-laden Elements EP. Thus one's called All Hail NE; and it's noteworthy because it's mostly new material, though they still manage to maintain their tradition of getting NE's classic material still desperately in need of a proper vinyl transfer onto wax too.

If you caught their latest video on Youtube, you may've spotted a link to a new 7-song EP on ITunes. Well, I don't know who gives a crap about some mp3s (heh. Okay, I guess some people do), but I was infinitely more excited to discover that there was also this vinyl version quietly being released by Chopped Herring. The track-listing's not exactly the same (more on that later), because, again, Chopped Herring's dipping back into the vaults, whereas the ITunes EP is 100% new material.

So, what have we got exactly? There's definitely some interesting material to parse here. Considering how their past releases of odds and ends and bootlegs have made the Natural Elements catalog pretty confusing already, I'm going to break this down track by track:

1) DoNE - Natural Elements put this song online back in 2011. For a long time, NE had been operating on divergent paths, either as solo artists or in smaller groups. So this was an early (the first?) reunion to have their original producer Charlemagne back with them behind the boards, and that as hot as a lot of their separate ventures were, they were strongest together. A real return to the classic NE sound.

2) All Hail NE - The title track, "All Hail NE" is a Scram Jones produced joint they released sometime early in 2013, but just recently made a video for. A really strong track to coincide with the EP releases.

3) DoNE (Instrumental) - What's a vinyl release without exclusive instrumental tracks, right? This one's pretty self-explanatory.

4) Survive - This is one of their original, OG tracks pre-dating their first EP,. It's been hiding in the shadows all these years... on their earliest snippet tapes and bootleg releases. It got its first official, cleaned up release on that crazy anniversary album; but of course that was CD only. So this is its (non-bootleg) vinyl debut.

5) Off-Beat Bop - This was a mysterious DJ Sebb ("B-Boy Document")-produced song that wasn't from their Tommy Boy album but still popped up on that anniversary album. Again, that was CD only, making this its vinyl debut, boot or otherwise.

6) Turning Tables (Acapella) - WTF? Well, "Turning Tables" was a cool new song NE put out online early last year, an ode to hip-hop's great DJs (it's a pun; get it?). But even though the song's never gotten a proper release, Chopped Herring's decided to only include the acapella? I mean, sure it's a treat for acapella collectors and remixers; but not putting the actual, proper song on here first? That's just weird.

So, we have some very interesting choices. The ITunes EP features exclusively new material, so basically they only have two tracks in common: "All Hail NE" and "DoNE." That one doesn't have the instrumental or acapella version either, though they do include the complete "Turning Tables" song, as well as some other new NE joints. The biggest loss in the translation for me was "Competition is NoNE," possibly my favorite of the new Charlemagne-produced NE songs to date. Yeah, it's gotten flack for sampling some teeny-bopper song, but since I don't listen to that crap, the association doesn't bother me.  I just appreciate it as the killer NE groove that Charlemagne turned it into. I would've loved to have it on here, especially in place of, say, a random acapella.

But at the end of the day, this is another terrific Natural Elements release. Maybe it's not the ideal track-listing I would've personally assembled, but you've gotta put aside what could've been and look at what is. And "what is" is another essential, must have slab of wax for any Natural Elements fan.  I'm especially pleased to report that their new music is totally up to par with their 90s material... Sadly, that's very rarely the case with artists like these. But Natural Elements have really mastered the retention of everything that we fell in love with - in terms of lyrics, vocal stylings and production - while still keeping it fresh. A tremendously rare feat.

And considering this is already Chopped Herring's third Natural Elements EP, I guess it's not too unrealistic to hope that any song we wanted but didn't get here may still turn up on volume 4, right? "Competition Is NoNE," Knick Knack"... You know what the world needs, Herring. But in the mean time, I'm gonna sit here and be super happy with what I just got.  :)

Natural Elements Demos Unreleased Still.

Now here are a couple of interesting items that hit EBay at the same time Chopped Herring released their Lost Demos and Instrumentals EP. This could be directly related to that release, or it could just be a timely coincidence. But either way, it's quite interesting for us Natural Elements fans. Demos! Here's the tracklistings for all three (taken from the auction descriptions):

Left: 1) Bust mine 2) Money and moves  3) We all f@#$%*g high
Center: 1) Live the life 2) Relax 3) Don't sleep 4) Puttin in work
Right: 1) It's a triple team 2) I gots it hard 3) Life ain't fair you only here for a minute 4) Every single day 5) Wishing on a star

Some of these titles are decidedly more recognizable than others... "Bust Mine," for example, is probably their greatest, best known hit; while "We all f@#$%*g high" is more mysterious. It's also worth noting that the tape on the left is specifically labeled as "joints for 97," so we know when that one's from. So let's see exactly how much we can glean from these track-listings, shall we?

As I said, "Bust Mine" is obvious. And the EBay listing description gives us a little extra info to go on: "Bust Mine was the only song to come out on Dolo Records single release." But "Money and moves" sounds familiar, doesn't it? That's probably because the hook to one of their other biggest hits, which just so happened to come out on the same Dolo 12" as "Bust Mine," uses that expression as the body of its chorus. The hook for "Paper Chase" is, "it goes money and moves, moves and money. Gotta make money, 'cause bein' broke ain't funny. On a paper chase, ain't nothin' for free. Everybody got a price; everybody got a fee." Color me cynical, but I think the odds are very high that "Money and moves" is just "Paper Chase," and the seller is wrong about "Bust Mine" being the only previously released song from there. Especially since, except for the middle one, I don't see any song titles written on the tapes. Which makes me think the seller listened to the tapes and guessed on the titles based on the music... and "Money and Moves" would be a very good guess for the title of "Paper Chase," if you didn't already know it.

The next one is an L-Swift solo tape. Here we're told (again in the item description), "Live the life was the only song to come out on a EP 12" single release." That would be absolutely correct if it weren't woefully out of date (remember, these auctions just ended under a week ago). "Puttin' In Work" was on Chopped Herring's 2011 Lost Demos EP, and the other two are on CH's brand new EP.

Now, the description for tape #3 doesn't tell us anything about its songs. But four of those songs are the first four songs on the Lost Demos EP, so not much mystery there.

Of course, without hearing them, any of these songs could, I suppose, be alternate versions. There is,  after all, more than one version of "Life Ain't Fair" floating around out there, as I've covered in a previous Natural E post. And hey, maybe "Moves and Money" isn't "Paper Chase." It probably is, but we can't be totally sure without hearing it.

So I'd love to be able to hear everything and find out what's what. But essentially, we're just left with two songs that are really compelling: "We all f@#$%*g high" and "Wishing on a star." Are these just screwy titles for songs we already know and love? Or are they awesome, never heard before killers? Maybe whoever won them will let us know. Or maybe they're currently being remastered for Chopped Herring's next vinyl release.

P.s. - Also of note is the fact that the same seller had a two-song Last Emperor demo tape up at the same time, which was all produced by Charlemagne. The titles were "Meditation" and "On!" "Meditation" later appeared on his compilation CDs, but I'm not sure what "On!" is...

Natural Elements Demos Unreleased No More!

It's time to get excited, Natural Elements fans!  ...Again.  Because Chopped Herring Records has just (finally) come out with their follow-up to last year's amazing Lost Demos EP, called Lost Demos and Instrumentals.

So, the title pretty much lays it out for ya. It's another six-song EP, but this time it's half unreleased demo joints and half instrumentals. Instrumentals, that is, of three of the unreleased demo joints from their previous EP, which, frankly, I never imagined we'd ever see. I mean, it's (painfully) rare enough when great, unreleased demo tracks get unearthed and pressed on wax. How often do the instrumental versions of such unreleased demos get unearthed and released on wax? Pretty much never! So, I'm sure I'm not alone in being less excited by the instrumentals as by the full demo tracks; but it's damn impressive, and I'm sure there are instrumental heads who are very excited to see these on wax. ...And, it's also important to note that Chopped Herring is only charging half their usual price for this EP, exactly because it's half full of instrumental-only tracks.  They deserve a lot of credit for that!

So, I won't say much more about the instrumentals... You can already read about the full songs in my post on the Lost Demos EP.  I'll just clarify that the instrumental version of "Life Ain't Fair" is the harder version from the Lost Demos EP, and not the R&B-ish one I wrote about for Hip-Hop Connection.

So, should I stop wasting time and get to the tracks we're all really curious about? Okay! First up are two L-Swift solo tracks, "Relax" and "Don't Sleep." Actually, Mr. Voodoo seems to be lending his voice to "Relax," too, but he never kicks a verse, so it's essentially a Swigga solo. And they're great, vintage songs, both recorded in 1993 and recorded by the only producer whose name should be on this project: Charlemagne.

By the way, both of these are specifically noted as being the "Demo Tape Versions" on the label here, just like "Puttin In Work" on Herring's last record. I asked the question in my last blog if that means there are alternate, Non-Demo Tape Versions still waiting to be released. But I suspect this is just CH's way of confessing that these particular tracks have been ripped from a cassette, when they usually work with the original master recordings for optimal sound quality.

Well, I recall saying that "Puttin In Work," "seems like it may've been sourced from an actual cassette; but it still sounds surprisingly good." But apparently that wasn't enough for Chopped Herring, who explain on their website that, "Now we have had the cassette joints re-mastered at a different facility than the last EP we did (always thought Puttin in Work couldve been better) and now we can proudly present 2 other tracks from that tape." And I do agree that these tracks do sound even a bit better than "Puttin In Work." It's just a teensy bit tinnier than a nice master would be, but it's beyond just "acceptable." And Chopped Herring are apparently very convinced nothing better will ever surface, saying, "We can assure you that NO OTHER BETTER VERSIONS will ever come out on vinyl - the originals are LOST and all that remains is the demo tape, so if you hear the odd bit of vocal distortion sorry cats, but its the only surviving source!" I mean, you can't argue with that; they used Caps Lock. And seriously, I'm quite happy with what we've got here.

Finally, then, we have "Yes Yes Y'all," a 1994 radio promo recorded for DJ Mayhem's radio show. To be clear, this is no quickie on-air freestyle. Mr. Voodoo and especially L Swift kill it here; kicking all original verses over a perfect, indie NY track. And it all sounds recorded like a professional song, with a nice scratch hook. This is labeled as the Radio Version, but there are no censored curse words or anything. I guess that's just CH's way of identifying its radio promo origins?

If you're a Natural Elements fan (and if you're not, are you sure you're in the right genre? This is hip-hop, son), you know what this is: e-fucking-ssential. And Chopped Herring have again brought this to us with first class treatment. It comes in a sticker cover, as you can see above, and they've really got the material sounding as good as it can, considering the limitations of the source. This is limited to 350 copies, 75 of which are pressed on mixed black and silver (silver) wax, 75 on turquoise (turquoise), and the rest on your traditional black. This can be ordered direct from choppedherring.com; and remember, the price is right on this one, too!

Natural Elements - NOW We're Talking!!

Man, I have been waiting at the door for this one to arrive...!! As you may recall, I've been documenting and pining for Natural Elements' brilliant yet unreleased demo tracks (see here, mainly, but also here and here)... And now, thanks to Chopped Herring Records, six of those vintage tracks are no longer unreleased!

The Lost Demos EP Vol. 1 ("Vol. 1?" "VOLUME 1?!" That implies there will be a "Vol. 2!" Woohoo!) is just shipping now on "very limited vinyl." Specifically, that breaks down into three unique pressings: 75 copies on gold vinyl, 75 copies on white (white) vinyl, and 150 on traditional black, for a grand total of 300 EPs. And they all come in a phat sticker cover.

So what have we got here?! Let's look at it track by track:

1) I Got Your Heart - I wrote about this one in my HHC article. It's also known as "What My Crew Do To You" and features the early line-up of Voodoo, KA (instead of A-Butta) and L-Swift. Thanks to the record label, we now this was produced in 1995 by (just like you'd expect) Charlemagne.

2) Triple Team - Another one I wrote about in the HHC article, another one featuring KA instead of A-Butta, and another one produced by Charlemagne in 1995.

3) Every Day - Now here's one I've never even heard of before! According to the label, it's again from 1995 and produced by Charlemagne. Fucking nice.

4) Life Ain't Fair (Original) - Another '95 one produced by Charlemagne that I wrote about in my article. It's interesting that this specifies "Original." That's because it's completely different from the version I have a snippet of. There's no R&B chorus, and this beat is much harder, giving the song an entirely different feel.

5) Machine Gun Prayer - This one's a Mr. Voodoo solo song, produced by LDR Louie Ortiz - the same guy who produced Voodoo's later EP, Let the World Know. The year of production is said to be unknown on this one, but if it's by Mr. Ortiz, it might be a little more recent than the other material on here.

6) Puttin' In Work (Demo Tape Version) - Another song that specifies this as a specific version, implying that there are others... This one is an L-Swift solo track, and the oldest one on the EP, dating all the way back to 1993; and it's again produced by Charlemagne.

Poor A-Butta isn't on here at all. The first four tracks are so old they feature the KA version of the line-up, and then he doesn't get a solo joint. I can't complain, though, everything here is great, and KA brings a unique element - if you'll forgive the pun - to the crew that works great. A-Butta and L-Swift, after all, sorta rode in the same lane. Voodoo was complex, L made it smooth and KA came with the ruggedness. Butta and Swift were both smooth. They were also both fantastic at it, so it was all good, but it's cool to experience more of the original line-up.

You may've noticed, I haven't really addressed how good the songs are... that's because this is from Natural Elements at their prime - it goes without saying that everything on here is must-have level material. And the sound quality ranks an A+, too. You may've heard shoddy radio rips of a couple of these songs before, but you can throw them shits out now! These are the clean, clear and unabridged original recordings sounding perfect (except the L-Swift song seems like it may've been sourced from an actual cassette; but it still sounds surprisingly good) on brand new vinyl.

Now Chopped Herring as already begun taking pre-orders on their next release, and it's not Natural Elements Vol. 2. It's Grimm Teachaz, an interesting group with some dope production that got jammed up in Jive Records back in '93. But if Vol. 2 isn't their current release or even their next release, we can hopefully expect it relatively soon. So, what might we have to look forward to?

Well, my HHC article covered the nine (total) known NE tracks that have yet to be recorded; and that didn't cover solo material, which Chopped Herring is clearly open to including. So, that means 5 of the tracks I wrote about there are still pending, plus the version of "Life Ain't Fair" with Bridge. Now "Survive" was released, albeit unofficially, on the Word of Mouth EP, so we're not worried about that one. And "Supreme Domination" was on the 10 Year Anniversary album - BUT that was a CD only release, so it would still be a very welcome inclusion on any vinyl Chopped Herring was willing to put out.

And that also leaves us with the great demo tracks "Knick Knack," "Freak Freak Y'All," "My Nature." Plus we know Mr. Voodoo, at least, has a bunch more killer solo joints that haven't been released (he could have a solo EP all to himself, which would be awesome), and there's always the non-Demo Tape Version of "Puttin' In Work." And of course, there's no telling what jewels might be in their vaults that nobody at all has heard of, but could still come out and blow us away. After all, "Every Day" was certainly a new one on us. Who knows? Maybe there's even going to be a Vol. 3. I'm giddy.

Natural Elements, Just In Time for the Holidays!

Natural Elements are now set to drop on December 1st. Remember that project on Traffic I was talking about a few months ago? Well, there's now a date, album cover and an official track-listing. It looks like we're a go!

So, this is gonna be rewarding. The track-listing is 20 tracks deep; which is 6 songs longer than the leaked Tommy Boy album. So we already know we're in for something extra. In fact, it's only sort of Tommy Boy's shelved album... Actually, it seems to be a random assortment of NE tracks, including a large chunk of the Tommy Boy stuff. Once again it gets confusing and brings up almost as many questions as answers, so let's break it down song by song and see what we can work out:

1) "NE Season" - This was track #12 on the leaked version, so already we're out of sequence with the Tommy Boy LP, but that's the least of the differences we're going to see moving forward.

2) "2 Tons" - The big Tommy Boy single, of course, and one of their best ever.

3) "Bust Mine" - The old Dolo single? Yup. It seems like we're going into a bit of a 'Natural Elements' Greatest Hits' run here.

4) "Tri-Boro" - 'Greatest Hits...'

5) "Paper Chase" - More 'Greatest Hits.' I wish they would've left these off to make room for more unreleased material; but there's plenty of that still to come, so can't complain too much.

6) "Supreme Domination" - Whoa. An unreleased Fortress-era track (that I wrote about in HHC, here)? NOW we're talkin'!

7) "Livin It Up" - Second single from Tommy Boy, though surprisingly it wasn't on the album as leaked. But Traffic threw it on here.

8) "Shine" - Back to 'Greatest Hits' steez. ::shrug::

9) "Off Beat Bop" - Whoa! Never heard this before... A "new" song that wasn't on the Tommy Boy leak - sweet!!

10) "By Nature" - This was on the album, and has been floating around the 'net, often titled "Take a Trip Into the Mind."

11) "Intricate Plot" - This was on the album. Remember, though; this is the first time these "album" tracks are getting a legit release, so even though I say "this was on the album," it's still completely, previously unreleased.

12) "Survive" - Traffic's taking it back again. This is an old song from the early NE days that'd only seen release on the bootleg EP from Word of Mouth (which I detail here).

13) "Second Hand Smoke" - This was on the album.

14) "Tell Me Something Good" - This was on the album.

15) "NE Thing" - This was on the album.

16) "Paper Chase Pt. 2" - This was on the album, and also the Word of Mouth boot, where it was titled "Paper Chase 2005."

17) "Livin It Up Pt. 2" - Again, this was released on single from Tommy Boy, but wasn't featured on their version of the album. But it's on this one. Nothing new, but the more the merrier, right?

18) "NE Definitely" - This was on the album and the Word of Mouth EP.

19) "More Than Vocals (MTV)" - A track that NE recorded after being dropped from Tommy Boy that's been floating around the 'net, and another one I covered in my HHC piece.

20) "First Of All" - Odd that the album's intro is stuck on as the last track, but what the hey? This seems to be slightly shorter than the version included on the leak AND the EP (I refer you to my EP review, again, for the differences between the two). Is this possibly a third edit? Or maybe it's just mixed a little faster.

So, Traffic (who seemed to be partnered up with a label called Kings Link Recordz for this release) has definitely gone gonzo in including plenty of extras along with the proper album track-listing... but unfortunately to extreme of excluding a bunch of songs from the LP! Yeah, you read that right. Five or six album cuts were left off of this release, which is all the more frustrating when you look at those damn "Greatest Hits" songs they've got on there, taking up room. What Natural Elements fan doesn't already have "Shine" and "Bust Mine?" "I Don't Care Anymore" and their ill phone sex song would've been much more welcome than some generic reissue songs thrown in the mix.

I guess maybe some of those songs are considered unfinished? L-Swift said the album was never properly mixed down and that the leaked version we heard were "skeleton songs" (see this post for more on that, including Swift's full quote). He even said "I Don't Care Anymore" was supposed to feature SuperCat, and I guess if they didn't record his part back in 1999, it's unlikely they would've called him into the studio in 2009. So I guess they made some "executive decisions" (though the tracks they left off don't sound particularly unfinished for the most part to me). I guess I can sorta accept that. They promise us that these are "the original masters secured and remastered," and the soundclips they've put out there (like here) do sound nice and clean.

It would kick ass if this came out on double LP, but it'll probably just be CD. But despite my qualms and the ways this could've been better (less stuff everybody's got and more previously unreleased material, this is still one hell of an awesome release. Heck, if this sells enough, maybe they could be talked into releasing a Volume 2 with all the rest of the songs.

Update 12/11/09 - Now that this disc is shipping and I've gotten my copy, I compared "First of All" to see if this is the version on the Word of Mouth EP or the Tommy Boy leak. Interestingly, it's the Tommy Boy leak, but they fade it out about a minute before the song's actually over. So if you've got the EP, at least you'll be getting the different version when you purchase this album... but yeah, it's missing the final third. Weird.

Charlemagne's Eva Bomb

In 1998, when it looked like Mr. Voodoo, L-Swift and A-Butta were hitting it big with their Tommy Boy signing, Charlemagne was making short-lived power moves of his own. Since Natural Elements were no longer his label's showcase act (and Raidermen and Nightbreed were being sadly neglected), Charlemagne signed a pretty impressive deal for Fortress Entertainment.

Fortress Records was merging with Nervous Records, to become a separate subdivision (like Wreck or Weeded Records). And Charlemagne was going to be the signature producer. They even made one of those cool, Nervous cartoon variation logos (right). They ran big, full-color ads in The Source and all the other rap mags. The big debut was going to be two 12"'s, recorded by the label's first signees - both produced of course, by Charlemagne - released at the same time in January, 1999.

Since both records came out on the same day, we'll go by catalog number and look at NE-FS 20340 first. Speaking of catalog numbers, you'll notice they started special, new hyphenated catalog numbers for this sub-label.

Ok, so NE-FS 20340 was the debut (and final, to date) 12" by an MC named K-Bomb, called "Bump This." It's got a pretty funky percussion line, with a lot of snaps and what-not mixed in with the drums, laying underneath an echoing horn loop. Lyrically, it's on the freestyle tip, and is kinda underwhelming, especially to anyone who might've picked this up hoping for some NE-style wizardy. The B-side, "Stories I Know (Chico)," works a little better. The two verses are separate street stories (one about a guy named Chico and one about a girl named Alexandria, who apparently needs a better agent), with a strong Kool G Rap influence in his rhyme pattern. The beat's a bit better, too; though very similar. It's got simpler, straight New York-style drums like you'd expect from Charlemagne, and a similar, but harder, echoing horn loop. B-side definitely wins, and while K-Bomb isn't amazing, this is a pretty good 90's 12" by anybody's standards.

NE-FS2031, then, is Eva Flo(spelled "Eva Flow" on the snippet tape)'s "I'm the One." It's a little more on the funkier, off-beat tip, with a head-nodding collection of short samples, and Eva kicking fresh rhymes, with a voice and flow sort of like a less extreme Scott Lark. It's definitely more playful. The B-side, "Whut You Smokin," on the other hand, is more of a disappointment. It features an unappealing synth sample and some generic rhymes about smoking weed. I mean, it's ok, and he tries to do something a little different on the hook. But this is definitely a song you'd talk over if you heard this come up on a mix-tape.

Both 12"s came with Vocal, Clean Edit and Instrumental versions of each song, but I guess they didn't perform like expected - and they were pretty underwhelming, though the better song on each record stood the test of time rather well - because that was the end of "The Nervous/ Fortress alliance." And these wound up being the last records released on Fortress in any capacity. Oh well. Charlemagne clearly landed on his feet in his production career; but it was definitely sad to see Fortress come to an end, especially without much of a bang.

Natural Elements "EP" - What Is It, Exactly?

The last Natural Elements release (at least as a collective unit), wasn't even a legit release. It was a 2005 EP, actually titled EP, on Word of Mouth Records, which is a pure, illegitimate bootleg label. So you could be commended for staying away from it altogether... but six previously unreleased Natural Elements cuts on vinyl? Let's face it, we're not staying away.

Now, it's commonly understood that these are 6 tracks from their unreleased Tommy Boy LP (but hopefully not unreleased for much longer, right Traffic? ::wink, wink::), but that's only... mostly true. So, as part of my continued efforts to dispel all mystery surrounding Natural Elements' material, let's compare our EP with the "never mixed down" "pre-production" "album that people have:"

We start out with the inconspicuously titled "Intro." It's essentially a fresh hook, repeated, freestyled and riffed on over and over, by the three members over a fresh beat. It sounds good, if a bit repetitious. And, yes, it's the same introductory track that's featured on the LP... except it's about thirty seconds shorter. Most of the lines are the same, and the instrumental's essentially the same, but I'd say it's been completely re-performed. Where the beat breaks down is different, some of the lines are different. Check the endings, for instance... the EP version has them saying "word up" and stuff, and you hear L and A pretty prominently. But the LP version ends with Mr. Voodoo declaring, "time's up, baby! We back, motherfuckers!" It really sounds like, though they're performing the same song, that it's an entirely different recording session on each release.

Track two is "Definitely;'" this was the last song on the LP. Then side A wraps up with "Second Hand Smoke" (track 7 on the LP). They're some smooth tracks, especially "Second Hand," but both are the same on the EP as they are on the LP.

But now here's where things really get interesting: The first song on side B, "Survival," isn't from the Tommy Boy LP at all. Remember that Natural Elements snippet tape I referenced in my last Fear Of the Rap! column for HHC? It's on there! That means this is actually some of their earliest material (though on the snippet tape, Fortress titles it "Survive").

Then we get to "Paper Chase 2005." Despite the extra five years Word of Mouth tried to bless it with in their titling, this is the same "Paper Chase" remix that was on the LP. It's pretty fuckin' slick, though.

Finally we hit the "Free Style Outro." The LP didn't have an outro... what is this? Well, this is actually "NE Angels," the last song on L-Swift's 2003 mix-CD, Cross Country; the only song that featured A and Voo. This is also the only song here that had actually seen a pretty legit release beforehand.

So, all in all, EP is an interesting, more-varied-than-you-probably-would've-guessed mix... pretty much a must-have for any NE fan who can abide a bootleg. A couple of these tracks have never been heard before or since, even within the context of the unreleased music that's been floating around amongst the fans; and the ones that have were never available on vinyl before... and sadly, I'm not too optimistic about the prospect of Traffic's upcoming release dropping on anything but CD. So this isn't an alternative to the soon-to-be-released LP so much as a companion piece.

You Should Pay Close Attention When We Drop It

Update 9/27/11: The HHC site seems to be down, so I've posted the article below... Click 'em to enlarge 'em to a readable size.

The new issue of HHC Digital drops today, with a special double-length column (Fear Of the Rap! pages 18 & 19) by yours truly. Why is it double-length? 'Cause I needed the space to make a definitive, set-the-record-straight guide to the Natural Elements' unreleased tracks. There is possibly more misinformation online about them than any other hip-hop group ever... And I also had access to some pretty exclusive details, so even the really knowledgeable heads should learn something by clicking here. 8)

The rest of the issue's dope, too. There's a big look back on the DMC tournies throughout the years. I'm still reading most of it myself.

Oh, and by the way. You know their unreleased Tommy Boy LP (which I touch on briefly in the column)? Well, it's not gonna be unreleased much longer. We've got it from Traffic themselves that they've rescued it and are putting it out this year. Quote: "Yes, 12"s were released back in 90-whatever to promote the shelved album, this is that album. not a recent effort by some old, fat rappers trying to sound jiggy." ...That's a bit harsh; the new 2Face stuff sounds dope; not pseudo-jiggy. lol But, hey, it's all good news.

Hopefully, this will be different than the bootleg people have heard, too. In an interview for Unkut, L-Swift has said, "The album people have, it was never mixed down. Nothing was mixed down. The song 'I'm Not Sure Anymore' (Track 3 of the Natural Elements Unreleased Tommy Boy Album), we were going to have Super Cat on that one. Those are skeletons of songs. They were in pre-production period." So, hopefully the Traffic album will have all the meat on it.