Nature | |
---|---|
Birth name | Jermain Baxter |
Born | December 5, 1972 |
Genres | Hip hop |
Years active | 1993–present |
Labels | Columbia Records |
Associated acts | The Firm, Nas, AZ, N.O.R.E. |
Jermain Baxter (born December 5, 1972), better known as Nature, is an American rapper, best known for his association with fellow Queensbridge-born rapper Nas.[1]
Baxter grew up in Queensbridge, New York, and went to school with Nas.[2][3] Nas introduced Nature to the public in 1997, as a member of his supergroup The Firm, whose members also included AZ and Foxy Brown.[2][3] Nature was brought in to replace rapper Cormega, who had a contractual dispute with Nas' manager Steve Stoute. The Firm's first and only album, Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album, went platinum, and topped the Billboard 200 album chart.[2][4]
He left the group in 1997 and in 2000 his debut solo album, For All Seasons, was released by Columbia Records and featured a guest appearance from Nas.[2][5] It reached #50 on the Billboard 200.[6] He followed this in 2002 with Wild Gremlinz, now on independent Sequence Records, which reached #150 on the Billboard 200 but reached #9 on the Independent Albums chart.[7] Three of his tracks were included on the soundtrack of the film Angels in America in 2003. A third album, Pain Killer, was released in 2008.