Lost Freestyle Files

Supernatural | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 25, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Babygrande Records
• ASIN: B00008BRBK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,169 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight heat! "Commercial" MCs learn a lesson!, March 26, 2003

By 

Derrick C. Williams (Illadelph(by way of Greenville, MS.)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost Freestyle Files (Audio CD)

This is just ridiculous. I can't wait until the next offering from him! I saw him during the Word Of Mouth tour in the Illadelph a few years back. He's worlds ahead of Eminem, Jigga-boo, Snoop Dogg, all of them. Maybe Canibus could give him some work because JUICE lost that battle on this CD. Other than that, maybe Eyedea. In my opinion, NO MC out came get with this guy on freestyles. Hip Hop's best kept secret.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LEGENDARY MC SUPERNATURAL, November 15, 2005

By 

Love Will Overcome (Truthville) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost Freestyle Files (Audio CD)

Supernatural is undoubtedly one of the best Freestyle MC's period. This album is a great collection of his works as a freestyle MC.

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ALSO PICK UP his brand new debut studio album "S.P.I.T. (Spiritual Poetry Ignites Thought)" (Up Above Records). IN STORES 11.15.2005

On his new album, Supernatural teams up with DJ Muggs, B-Real, Raekwon of Wu-Tang, Evidence of Dilated Peoples, Charli 2na of Jurassic 5, to bring a great studio album that will surely prove that Supernatural is an all-around MC, and deserves the legendary acclaim he receives...

""Supernatural proves that being lyrically super is natural."

-KRS ONE

"Supernatural epitomizes everything that is beautiful about Hip Hop.  Live interaction with the crowd is the heart of emceeing and Supernatural has elevated that art through free-style.  This album ["S.P.I.T"] gives you your first taste of what's yet to come."

-TALIB KWELI

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Helluva Lot of Freestyling, October 5, 2003

By 

Jesse Smith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost Freestyle Files (Audio CD)

Since Supernatural is generally considered to be one of the world's top freestylers, it's not surprising that this album has a lot of freestyling. Even though there are some new studio tracks on here, it shouldn't really be viewed as Nat's debut album, but rather some of the highlights of his freestyle career. Half the tracks are freestyles and the other half are studio, but it's still well over half freestyling, because the freestyle tracks range from 2-20 min. long, while the studio trakcs are just 3-5.

First, let me do the freestyles. This really just gives you some of the most important freestyles Nat has done, including his 2 major battles, one 20 min. live show, and some radio freestyles. The sound quality is terrible, but since these are old radio recordings you have to be forgiving. It would be hard to grade the production, since you can't always make out the beats and they change a lot and aren't original, so I'll stick to the rhymes. The rhymes wouldn't be that good for a studio album, but for freestyles they're excellent. Nobody can front on Nat's skills. Even though he has some dope punch lines, that's not really what he's best at. His talent lies in his ability to rhyme for a long time, about virtually anything, using all kinds of different styles. He does some voices, and on his live show he freestyles using words from the audience, or about the things in their pockets. It's seriously impressive that anybody can keep it up that long. Personally I think he lost the Juice battle because he had less punch lines, but it was cool hearing his Biggie impersonation. I think he won the Craig G battle, because Craig was just screaming half the time, anyway. His other radio appearances are good just because he can rhyme about different things, and a couple times he rhymes like he's underwater. The best one was when he rhymes with A-Butta because the lyrics were so crazy and his voice was all deep. Supernatural is arguably the best freestyle artist on the planet, and this album shows it.

The studio tracks were good, too. I like the way they set it up, with 3 tracks opening it and then 4 closing, giving the freestyle tracks the center. This isn't really Supernat's natural habitat, however. His written rhymes sound like they're meant to be battle rhymes, not just in the content but in the flow. He doesn't have a lot of complicated rhymes patterns; it's all pretty straightforward. He has the same skill in writtens as with freestyles...the ability to switch up his style. In some tracks it's just a regular delivery, but in a couple he takes on this deep-voiced psychotic style that gives him different flavors. The problem with this is there's nothing to distinguish his own style. He's not consistent in his delivery, and it's hard to say what makes him different than most other MCs in the studio. Honestly, it's the guest appearances that make the studio tracks good. Jurassic 5 have some nice verses in "Work It Out," especially Chali 2na with his usual deep-voiced flow with stress on the rhyming syllables. In "Victory," it's Wildchild that catches your attention by packing so many words into one line. In "Suckaz," Vinnie Paz steals the show with his violent, multi-syllable rhymes. Supernat is usually the one you pay the least attention to.

The production on these tracks varies. DJ Rhettmatic provides some nice harpsichord beats, while Joe Buddha has a more dreamy and futuristic feel. Panik's track is really nice; dark and violent to suit Vinnie's verse. Djinji Brown...I don't know what drug he was on in the studio. His track is creepy-sounding and doesn't work very well. Oh No's beat is very crazy and random, and maybe slightly tropical. Hard to describe. Still, it's alright once you get used to it.

Overall, I think this album is a pretty good buy, but be prepared for bad sound quality, some long tracks, and a lot of freestyling. The main purpose is definitely to display Supernatural's freestyling abilities. The studio tracks are there to give you a little taste, open and close the album, and fill some time. Supernat isn't truly the star in those, but they're still nice tracks. But don't buy it unless you want the freestyles.

Closing Comments: I got the dude's autogaph at Lollapalooza =), but I didn't see him perform =(.