Natural Elements are an American underground hip hop group from New York City, active since 1993. Origin Brought together in 1993 under the direction of Charlemagne, Natural Elements began as a group consisting of solo artists Mr. Voodoo, L Swift, Ka, Howie Smalls, G-Blass, and the InTIMidator. In 1994, Natural Elements dropped its first 12" with "The EP" which was produced by Charlemagne under Fortress Entertainment. L Swift, Ka and Mr. Voodoo received the most attention initially. Soon after, Ka would voluntarily leave the group. This was due to feelings expressed during a public talk at the Red Bull Music Academy that he wasn't as good as the other two, and felt his presence in the group would hold them back. By 1995, A Butta joined the group and officially Natural Elements condensed into its modern-day trio. Recording history After reforming the group into what was now the official Natural Elements, Mr. Voodoo, L Swift, and A-Butta began to record tracks together. With Charlemagne, their original goal before pursuing a major label was to build up Fortress Entertainment. As a side project, A-Butta and L Swift formed the duo "2Face", and released "NYC/Hey Hey Hey" under Blind Side Recordings in 1996. Natural Elements became an NYC underground hip-hop sensation with their presence on DJ Premier's "Reality Check 101", and appearances on radio shows. They became known for their incredible freestyles and their uncanny ability to flow one after another and finish each other's sentences, sometimes trading bars back to back like old school rap groups used to do. This "3-man weave" rhyme style was taught to them by Charlemagne and can still be heard in group tracks today. They became most famously recognized for their appearances on the Stretch and Bobbito Show, "The Underground Railroad", and The Halftime Show on New York University Radio. The group put out its first 12-inch in 1997 under Dolo Records with "Bust Mine" and "Paper Chase" which were also produced by Charlemagne. During this time, rappers were beginning to get fed up with the lack of creative control given to the artists by their record labels. An indie rap movement began to flourish with Rawkus Records at the helm. Eventually, Natural Elements acquired a record deal with a major label, Tommy Boy Records. In 1998, N.E. released their first single "2 Tons/Live It Up" under their indie division called Tommy Boy Black Label. All