The debut solo album from Emcee/Producer Natty Roots a.k.a. Quique Cruz. This is lyricism with a style. A showcase of Hip Hop styles, from gutter to the club, or from underground to mainstream. Influenced by Reggae/Dancehall, and spiced with Reggaeton.

19 MP3 Songs
HIP-HOP/RAP: Hip Hop, REGGAE: Dancehall

Show all album songs: This iz not a demo... Songs


Details:
This roots Rastaman of Puerto Rican descent was born April 9, 1976 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. With Hip Hop Culture all around him it was inevitable he would, one day, become involved in the movement. At the age of ten he packed up his bags and flew to the West Coast, with his mother and brother. Santa Ana, California was his final destination, and Natty was never to return to his place of birth. His migration to the West couldn't have been more timely, as Hip Hop Culture was moving in the same direction at the same time. With Rap music's heavy influence of Reggae, this fusion would soon become apparent in the lifesyle of young Quique (pronounced kee-keh).

As a youth, Natty was into freestyle dancing/choreography and toured in his early teens with a dance crew including his older brother, dancing for rap groups who were at the time up and coming. Being in this sort of atmosphere inspired him to persue a career in the music industry. He started writing rhymes to the instrumentals of all his favorite artists. By the time he reached eighteen years of age he would borrow a friends sampler and 4-Track, allowing him to exercise his music composition skills.

Today, Natty Roots is himself a proficient producer and emcee. He is also a top-notch traditional Nyabinghi drummer, even gaining praises from the Nyabinghi Specialist himself, Ras Michael. He is constantly producing music for many artists local to the Southern California area, and is very involved in artist development. As an emcee he loves to perform, and has been rocking crowds since '95.

Quique has been featured on several different albums within the last few years. Some of wich include a colaboration with Producer/Emcee Lumbajac (of Hoodlum West) on his debut album "Sumthing Wicked", and a verse on Warbux's album "Victory Weapon". Also, he produced a few tracks for Zaire Black's album "Victory Dance". He has worked with LMNO, Mums The Word, Mr. Brady, DJ Drez and many others. When he is not on stage performing, he can be found in his Earth Bound Sound studio (The Mother-ship), working on a new rap, hooking up a beat, or mixing down a new song.