Rap has recently enjoyed a resurgence in quality, due in no small part to artists like Mos Def, Jurassic 5 and Company Flow, who with their stinging rhymes, streamlined production values and overall positive message, have turned the tables on the tepid world of mainstream rap. It is from this proverbial "new school" that Chicago duo All Natural have emerged. Just one listen to their sophomore effort, Second Nature will prove that they are at the epicenter of the current hip-hop renaissance.
MCs Tone B. Nimble and capital D (Tony Fields and David Kelly, respectively) are the core of All Natural, and it is their utopian vision that guides Second Nature. If it’s Police samples and cookie cutter beats you're after, I suggest you look elsewhere...but if organic production, laid-back grooves and clever rhymes are your bag, All Natural could be just what the doctor (Dre) ordered to ease your troubled mind.
It’s clear that the duo subscribe to the popular adage "come strong or don’t come at all", as they storm out of the gate with the potent one-two punch of "Second Nature" and "The Stick-Up". Before you can even say the word "go", spellbinding beats (courtesy of His-panik) begin to pulse as Nimble and D enter the fray, sporting shit-eating grins as their mile-a-minute rhymes provide a defining insight into the world of all things Natural. But those smiles quickly turn to frowns as the duo gets down and dirty, dissing Eminem on the loquacious-yet-virulent "Elements of Style". "Return of the Avenger" emits a decidedly supernatural vibe, spinning a tale of a police chase gone awry, backed by terse strings and calculated beats, while "Ill Advisory" eloquently traces the lineage of Chicago hip-hop, stopping along the way to pay respect to all the MCs who influenced Nimble and D as they were coming up.
Aside from showcasing the formidable skills of Fields & Kelly, Second Nature features cameos from some of Chicago’s best underground hip-hop talent. Rising star Spotlite lends his particular brand of vocal theatrics to the buoyant "Queens get the Money", while local producer G(riot) gets a chance to flex his beat-fabricating muscles on the haunted instrumental "The Next Mile". Other guests include Tone the Strategist (the fiery "Vegetarian"), production gurus His-panik and Memo (both of The Molemen) and up-and-coming superstars The Lone Catalysts ("Renaissance").
While it manages to steer clear of the majority of rap's clichés, Second Nature is guilty of one of the genre's most exasperating indulgences: excessive length. Clocking in at over 73 minutes, the disc drags in several spots, especially near the end. All Natural, along with the majority of their peers, need to realize that the fact that you can fit eighty minutes of music onto a disc doesn’t necessarily mean you should release an eighty minute album.
Those criticisms aside, Second Nature is a solid introduction to a duo poised to make their mark on the hip-hop world at large.
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