Natural Elements "1999" (20 Year Ann. Mix by DJ Eagle)

Natural Elements acquired a record deal with Tommy Boy Records in 1998, the same year they released their first single "2 Tons/Live It Up" under their indie division called Tommy Boy Black Label. The situation would soon turn out not to be ideal as Tommy Boy continually shelved their debut album due to not knowing how to market and promote them. Issues between the group and label would soon lead to Natural Elements leaving Tommy Boy. The debut album was ultimately never released in spite of the hype it accumulated. The group eventually took a small hiatus and disbanded due to personal issues. Kings Link Recordz released a compilation of tracks from those sessions in 2009 on CD only but this time around HHE will commemorate the legacy of Natural Elements by dropping it both on vinyl and CD. All the tracks have been fully mastered for both vinyl and CD as always and the artwork has been redone in the colours of the NY Knicks to represent their hometown to the fullest. The tracklist has been mildly redone, with a shuffled tracklist and the classic previously unreleased "Life Ain't Fair" track was added to the tracklist instead of "MTV". 

Natural Elements "NE Definitely" (Mixed by Bad Cop)

UK's Bad Cop presents a Natural Elements mix called "NE Definitely," which originally hit the web back in 2013. It's a 26-track non-stop mix, with posse cuts, solo joints, and miscellaneous cuts from affiliated artists. The core members of Natural Elements are A-Butta, L-Swift, & Mr. Voodoo, along with the producer, Charlemagne, but you'll see additional tracks from Nightbreed (KA & Oddbrawl The Lyrical Juggernaut), 2Face (A-Butta & L-Swift), and Raidermen (G-Blass & Stex). A nice mix to get you familiar with the NE crew, or remind you what the underground scene was like in New York back in the 90s. Props to A-Butta, always good peoples. Stream the Natural Elements mix below...

Natural Elements "Built To Last Mix"

The 'Built To Last' Radio Show is hosted by Corrado & I Joe, each Thursday from 8-9pm on Radio campus FM in Toulouse, France. This is another artist tribute mix, this time the legendary underground hip-hop crew, Natural Elements: L Swift, A Butta & Mr. Voodoo, along with Charlemagne on most of the production. Any fans that grew up in the same era of hip-hop as me - with access, of course - were glued to radio to try and catch the Natural Elements crew, late at night, dropping off live freestyles and going bar for bar with one another. Or, up at Fat Beats. Their LP on Tommy Boy Black had it's obvious setbacks, finally getting an independent CD release some years back, plus multiple vinyl releases to celebrate old demos, instrumentals and slept-on cuts. Dig all that up as you can, but for now get familiar with this tightly constructed "Built To Last" mix. 

Natural Elements "1999: 10 Year Anniversary" (2010)

There was a short period in the mid-1990′s, when heads were so fed up with direction that major labels were taking with hip-hop music, that many artists just decided to put their stuff out independently. Many important players were integral to this movement, including indie labels like Stones Throw and Fondle ‘Em, radio shows like Stretch & Bobbito and the Wake Up Show, and retailers such as Fat Beats and HipHopSite. It wasn’t long though before corporations wanted to get a piece of the action, such as Rawkus Records, or Tommy Boy who formed their “Black Label” imprint, specifically to market to this demographic. At the forefront of this movement was NYC based crew, Natural Elements, made up of A-Butta, L-Swift, Mr. Voodoo, along with producer Charlemagne. This group helped pioneer the indie movement, creating a local buzz for themselves, which would soon spread worldwide. However, unlike artists like Mos Def, Dilated Peoples, or Eminem, all of whom seemed to strike at just the right time, the N.E. crew came too early, and then thanks to a short-lived deal with Tommy Boy Black, remained shelved for the duration of their career. The group would go on “indefinite hiatus”, leaving their lost album in legendary status. 1999: 10 Year Anniversary skips much of the group’s earlier solo works, where arguably their strongest material lies, and instead collects many of the Tommy Boy sessions. Herein lies a handful of the group’s greatest recordings, which now shine with classic status over a decade after their original 12″ release. Among these is “2 Tons”, which worked as the perfect introduction to the crew, as they effortlessly flowed over Charlemagne’s BDP-inspired drum-kicks and interstellar keys. It’s B-Side cut, “Livin’ It Up” also featured the crew in perfect harmony, as they captured that almost “jiggy-backpack” sound of the time... “Bust Mine” was executed perfectly, as Charlemagne’s meaty track showed their potential with a little studio shine... Sadly, 1999 seems to have been left unmixed and unfinished, as many of the tracks sound like they were done in one take, never looking back. - HipHopSite. This is still a classic, to me, even if a lot of that is based off pure nostalgia. Updated...

Natural Elements 'VROOM' NEMix

Natural Elements are back with a new remix to the Charlemagne-produced heatrock, VROOM. Originally a Swigga (L-Swift) track, it was uploaded to his Soundcloud 2 months ago with Swigga's signature flow all over the record! This week, lyrics to an official NEMix surfaced online featuring the full Natural Elements crew: Anthony Cruz (A Butta), Agu (Mr. Voodoo), Swigga (L-Swift) and of course, Charlemagne on production. It always feels long overdue whenever we're blessed with new music from NE, but if you grew up on NYC radio in the 90s like I did, then you probably feel how I feel. You can order the NEMix on Itunes and stream the track below. Hopefully, an official music video is coming soon, but in the meantime, check their FaceBook page to order their brand new, exclusive NE logo t-shirts. Hopefully they have my size and I'd love some stickers too.

2 Face (A-Butta & L-Swift) "NYC" (12", 1996)

2Face is A-Butta (Anthony Cruz) and L-Swift (Swigga) from the legendary NYC hip-hop collective, Natural Elements. The name alone generates nostalgia from mix shows and the college radio days, where Natural E would be up there freestylin' and rhymin' back and forth. The spinoff from A-Butta and L-Swift as 2Face didn't spawn many releases, but fortunately, this vinyl for "NYC" was pressed in 1996. Around 2009, 2Face dropped a dope single called "Howard Stern," which was around the same time 1999: 10 Year Anniversary was unearthed and released by Natural Elements. Hopefully you already have that classic in your collection, as well as the recent Chopped Herring vinyl releases from NE. Peace to A-Butta, who has always shown love, and remains a decade ahead of his time; a true creative. I have 2 test presses of "NYC," one written as 'L-Swift + A Butter' and another with 'Natural Elements' on the sleeve - both wrong, but the music is still as dope today as it was in 1996. Keep an ear out for new music and click the tags as I'm sure they're will be more NE content.

DJ Riz & DJ Eclipse "The Halftime Show" (3/4/98)

"Here's the 1st ever episode of The Halftime Show. Riz & I stepped to Lynn Gonzalez who at that time had the Wednesday night slot and asked her if she wanted to join forces. After some initial hesitation she agreed and thus The Halftime Show was born. Unfortunately, Lynn wasn't able to make the show, but in her place was T.O. Sweet who had his own show on WNYU. Listening back the show was definitely a little rough around the edges, but we made it work. Riz spun the first half of the show, I spun the 2nd half. We had A-Butta and L-Swift of Natural Elements as our guests, which led to a couple dope freestyle sessions (96:16 & 104:25). Mr. Len from Company Flow was hanging out with us in the studio as well. This was before Serato and CDJs so every time we had to play an exclusive we would have to stop the mix to throw on the dat. A lot of the music played represented what was also going on at Fat Beats at the time. The good ol' days." Peace to Eclipse!