Customer Reviews

Natural

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Now people consider this ol' school. I remember when this joint came out "Ish is real" and "Masta I.C." were in the deck in heavy rotation. This was when nobody knew Irv Gotti, Ja Rule, DMX or Jay-Z and they were all a part of this LP. Unfortunately, Mic Geronimo never got the credit that his counterparts did, but I honestly think his 1st LP was better than the other artist's cataloge. (Except Jay-Z)

This LP will make you want to get a pair of Tims and represent. There's only a couple of tracks that make the LP a little bumpy, Mic's attempt at making a radio/R&B track. But all n' all a dope LP!!!

But, if you did dig those R&B joints, cop his 2nd LP and if you thought those tracks were wack, avoid his 2nd LP like the plague.

In 1995, the swiftly evolving New York rap landscape produced timeless gems from a new generation of MCs from the 5 boroughs: AZ, Mobb Deep, Raekwon, Big L, Nine, GZA, Smif-N-Wessun, and Group Home; as well as old names maintaining relevance: KRS-One, Onyx, Masta Ace, Showbiz & AG, Grand Puba, Fat Joe, LL Cool J, and Das EFX. Armed with a distinctly New York style and simple, familiar production similar to his contemporaries', bare-bones Queensbridge rapper Mic Geronimo dropped his debut "The Natural." Neither flashy nor conceptual, Geronimo was regarded as more of a second-tier New York rapper in comparison to his show-stopping peers, but "The Natural" proved to be one of the city's seminal albums in 1995. Not a hustler, pimp, or baller, Geronimo is a gritty observer who delivers thoughtful and clever lines with a Queens accent. He humbly describes himself "a man of my own," but he has real style and swagger. Although the album doesn't have an unforgettable single or even any real standout tracks, it has immediate appeal. The NYC rap empires of the late 90s (Roc-A-Fella, Bad Boy, Ruff Ryders, Murder Inc.) owe a huge debt to Mic Geronimo's music, with its rugged sound, smooth appeal, and gritty approach. He was also right in step with the times, and his Jeep-rumbling funk for the Tims and hoodies crowd--as well as the thundering tag-team posse cuts--proved influential.

Although not groundbreaking, the beats here are excellent, provided by Buckshot and Da Beatminerz (of Boot Camp Clik fame), Irv Gotti (of Murder Inc. fame), Chyskillz (of Onyx fame), and Mark Sparks. The rolling grooves use smart instrumentation for head-nodding, thumping productions. And did I mention the posse cuts? "Time to Build" is a classic, featuring the young and then-unknown rappers Jay-Z, Ja Rule, and DMX, each sounding youthfully energized and hungry to entertain and impress. Who would have known these three grimy New Yorkers would take over the music industry? Mic's buddy Royal Flush appears on five tracks, including the streetwise "Masta I.C.," "Masta I.C. (Remix)" with Lost Boyz, and "Men Vs. Many" with O.C. and C-Lo. Other highlights include the classy, laidback "Wherever You Are," the phenomenal single "S...'s Real," and the smooth-as-silk downtempo song "Things Change," which has soulful inflection.

"The Natural" carries the quintissential mid-90s New York sound of hip hop I love so much. It takes me back to the days when the Knicks, Yankees, and Hot 97 were all great. Even though this was an underground release, back in '95 the line between mainstream and underground was so blurred that an album of this caliber could be influential. Few albums capture the essence and mindstate of New York's city and hip hop scene in the 90s like "The Natural" does. This excellent LP doesn't slack for a second, sounds dope as ever thirteen years later, and it's one of the most overlooked and underrated albums from the borough of Queens and the year of 1995.

Mic Geronimo drops a good debut with this one. Though I think "Vendetta" (4.5 stars) is better this is still a solid 4 star album ( I don't own any of his other albums yet). Though rather short, only 13 songs, you get 1 classic, as few ok songs, and the rest are all good songs. Guests are on about half of the songs, and quite a few grew to become really big names in hip-hop years following this release. Production is pretty good as well. Mark Sparks does 4 songs, Buckwild and Irv Gotti each do 3 songs, Beatminerz do 2 songs and Chyskillz does the other 1. The album starts off a little slow but definitely picks up by track #5. A nice album to have form one of the better, but unfortunately, lesser known rappers from Queens.

#1 - 7.5
#2 - 8
#3 - 8
#4 - 7 (f/ Royal Flush)
#5 - 8 (f/ Royal Flush)
#6 - 10 (Classic - f/ Ja Rule, DMX, and Jay-Z - great beat and the first song I heard Ja on and one of the earliest songs I've heard with DMX or Jay-Z as well)
#7 - 8.5
#8 - 8.5 (f/ Royal Flush - nice beat)
#9 - 8.5
#10 - 8.5 (f/ O.C., Royal Flush & C-Lo)
#11 - 7.5
#12 - 9 (f/ Royal Flush - nice beat)
#13 - 7.5 (f/ Lost Boyz & Royal Flush)

Michael McDermon - b. 9/14/73 - Queens, NY
check all my reviews

Mic Geronimo could have been as nasty as nas or jayz. In fact, he has jz on "time to build," along w. ja and dmx, all of who became superstars. But he has a very laid back flow, like some kid that you know that's just ridiculous on the mic, which is why his next album with all its puffiness didn't work as well. This one is great, though. Beatminerz production, good guest spots by the above, plus OC and Royal Flush, and every verse crisp constructed but still raw. There's remixes of "It's Real" and "Wherever you Are" that are better than the versions on this cd.

Mic Geronimo spills some nice rhymes but like some other reviewers have noted he lacks that vocal charisma that other much less gifted rappers have. Some of these songs are downright banging, but it seems the label he has seems to put out less than top quality cd's (beats and vocals are not as crisp and sharp as other cd's, It was also apparent on Royal Flush's album). Bottom line this album should be in every fan of rap collection (ill assume that less than 1% own it) . Here youll get raw lyris, Ja before he became R&B , Royal Flush with a nice flow, Jay Z, DMX as grimy as ever and the Natural himself at his very finest

I rememeber bumping the hell out of masta i.c. when i first purchased the single.At the time I was just getting into the whole east coast flava.I got to admit,I found the hook and roc raida's scratches catchy but unbeknowest to me and many others I got to witness ja rule,jay-z and dmx for the first time on the b-side.Now that they-minus mic have gone on to do bigger and more lucrative things It makes me wonder if mic came out a little to soon.It also didn't help that he had a falling out with irv gotti.But nevertheless mic has came thru with a solid debut.The best tracks on here are Men Vs. Many,Time 2 Built remix,Time 2 Built,Natural, and It's Real.His second album isn't as good as his first.I think that after looking at his career this far he just hasn't had that oppurtunity to really shine.I think he's overlooked just as ras kass,akinyele,az,and twista are.But speaking from a true fan I think has time will come.

Mic Geronimo, straight out of Queens comes out in 1995 with a debut full of awesome beats courtesy of Buckwild, Mark Sparks, Chyskills, Beatminerz, DJ Irv (I believe this is Irv Gotti, the one with Murder Inc and Ja Rule.). The beats are some smooth, bass heavy boom bap, often paired with rich keyboard melody. On the mic, Geronimo, no pun intended, is simply sick with his grimy flow. If you love street oriented gangsta rap, this is for you. You even get a hungry and agressive Ja Rule, DMX, and Jay-Z featured on this album all together with Mic on "Time To Build" over a sparse, menacing DJ Irv beat. Ja, Hova, and DMX all sound so different then how they sound today, underground and mad angry, and they all shine. Mic flexes his skills on the title track over a heavy drum beat and sick scratching and relaxing background keyboard melody. OC and Royal Flush come and kick mad flows on the space boogie beat of "Men V Many." They all kick some sick philosophy. "Sh--'s Real" is thumpin' with a sunnier vibe beatwise with a twangy, soulful sample; yet, he does kick gritty lines here too. Overall, this album bangs with great production and underground street rhymes. A definite Queens classic along the likes of Mobb Deep and Nas, and LL Cool J's more street-oriented ish; this is essential material for real rap heads regardless of where u from, and I am mainly a Southern and West Coast G-Funk head.

Listing to beatz, rhyme & overall the whole (...) album by Mic geronimo's "The natural" simply sickness...These little club rappers cannot on their best dayz touch this album. Gay unit, dipset, lil john,bowwow, so on and so forth! Destroying hip hop. Anyways if you dont own this album by now ?Get it and learn about true hip hop* leave the commercial rap alone.

This is personally without a doubt Mic Geronimo's best album. Real fresh lyrics and totally on top production. I really suggest this if you're a hip-hop fan. Also, this album introduces the one and only Royal Flush in which would be a good collection if you peeped his Ghetto Millionaire first somehow.

But, as much as Mic Geronimo proved how good he could be in this album, collaborating with Jay-Z (whom personally I ain't a fan of) just shows that he's been quickly going into mainstream and not only that, but falling from his popularity. No personal remarks based on.

If you enjoyed this album like I have, peep Vendetta. But, that would have probably be it unless the Masta I.C. starts to bring back that real hip-hop feel.

When I first heard this CD I remember thinking how much it was like ILLMATIC with its classic production courtesy of buckwild and smooth lyrics Geronimo held it down on this one. The music is very remiscent of NAS 1995 debut and has that Gritty NY ghetto feel to it if you are a fan of NY Hiphop you will love this. geronimos lyrics while not the best sound alot like NAS and many other NY rappers. I think the thing that doomed this release and didnt give it the classic status of albums such as Illmatic is the fact that it was released around the same time as Illmatic and geronimo didnt have any backing by a major label to promote this masterpiece of an album. So it goes to show you can have all the talent in the world and still go completely unoticed for years by the general public. Mic G started to fall off after this one I think he needs to get with BUCKWILD, DA BEAT MINERZ, or 9TH WONDER and bring us another album like this one. Classic, Masterpiece, Greatest of all time, these words dont even begin to describe what this album has in store for you. 5 MICS