Steve 'Flash' JuonI spent an hour before starting my review of “Blaz4Me” pondering the nature of evil. That sounds more like a philosophical exercise than a music critique, but I promise you it’s pertinent. We’ve seen some genuinely depraved behavior in this country on behalf of making America “great” which seems purposefully designed to have the opposite effect. The demonization of immigrants, minorities, non-Christians (or atheists) and LGBTQIA+ people has led to hate crimes, deportations and worse. I feel personally powerless to do anything about this evil because people willingly chose it and voted for it. Germans chose Adolf Hitler too. Some forms of evil are truly inexplicable. It seems to be humanity’s nature to discriminate, to hate, and to perpetrate wickedness on “the other” whenever some group has been tricked into believing doing so can make their lives better. It never works and it only exposes the ones doing it as a base, selfish coward with no empathy for anyone not like them.
In that context it seems silly to me that Natas (that’s “Satan” spelled backward if it wasn’t already obvious) was ever scorned by the likes of the PMRC. If I can be frank for a second (“Hi Frank!”) the idea that silly songs “Wet Pussy on Saturday Night” could corrupt innocent minds or inspire them to commit heinous crimes is patently absurd. “Call me a devilish ass nigga/All I got is my balls and my word and my dick gets bigger” is said on “All In Yo Head,” which showcases a braggadocio worthy of Rudy Ray Moore with a song title that sums up the issue perfectly. Even if Esham and his friends Mastamind and T-N-T (RIP) drew pentagrams on the ground, lit candles and chanted Satanic verses, it’s not going to do anything but scare some lily-livered white people. Bragging about your dick size isn’t a crime.
In fact I’m hard pressed to find anything genuinely disturbed or depraved here at all. The Geto Boys (in particular Bushwick Bill) were pretty good at tapping into that dark corner of your mind and making you fear a serial killer was lurking in the shadows. “Stay True to Your City” shows a Detroit with less crime than you might find in the real one, with some straight up G-Funk worthy of Death Row Records from the era. This isn’t mean to scare you or make you feel fear — or if it was then Natas entirely failed at their mission to do so. It’s a HAPPY failure because this is a simple funk bop about hometown pride.
I’m not saying Natas was more image than substance, but I am saying their reputation for evil far exceeded the imagery that they used. They achieved the cultural infamy they desired by making it appear they were a gruesome crew, but Cypress Hill’s “How I Could Kill a Man” (a personal favorite song) shows more lethality than anything on “Blaz4Me.” You might think “A View 2 a Kill” would be in the same vein but the song actually starts with a plea to God that “the kingdom of Heaven is within reach” and lets you know everything that follows is only horrorcore music for entertainment’s sake.
The biggest downside to Natas’ sophomore album is that it can’t recapture the energy of their debut. While they were still being blamed for their “homicidal raps” inspiring teens to imitate them, I’m not aware of anywhere near the furor for this album’s release and genuinely can’t dig up a reason there should have been. “Killas Don’t Talk” won’t shock you unless you’ve never heard a rap song in your life, and I think there are more drill rappers with bodies in one single than Natas manages collectively on this record. Respectfully Mastamind and T-N-T are fine cohorts for Esham but never had the manic energy of the group’s founder and biggest star. He sounds better on his own but there’s nothing wrong with “Blaz4Me” other than it paling in the face of the true evil in the United States right now.