| The Nature Boy | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Birth Name |
Yizar Rainwater |
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Birth Date |
1974 |
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Origin |
Stockton, California, USA |
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Genre |
Hip hop, West Coast hip hop, G-funk, new jack swing, urban R&B, Underground hip hop |
|
Occupation |
Rapper, singer, lyricist, dancer, dance teacher |
|
Years active |
1994 - 2014 |
|
Label |
Video Uptown Records, Mack Life Records, Forever Fly Entertainment |
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Associated acts |
Too $hort, Ice, Debonair, Dreq, Butch, Shank, Strong, Pastor Troy, Hitman Sammy Sam, Big Yo, Forever Versatile, Portia, 2 $ Fabo, Dr. Raw |
The Nature Boy (born Yizar Rainwater 1974 in Stockton, California) is an American former rap recording artist, singer, lyricist, dancer, and dance teacher. He was born into a musically-inclined and vocally-inclined family. At an early age, he gained experience singing, rapping, and dancing. Prior to jumpstarting his own music career, he opened for other artists and music groups on tour such as New Kids On The Block, New Edition, Montell Jordan, and E-40. Not only that, but he also wrote songs for other music acts and taught dance to others as well. Being so multitalented, he could be described as basically a quadruple threat. Going the underground route after opening for other acts, he signed with the indie label, Video Uptown Records, which released his debut album, Sweet Black Magic, sometime in 1995. He emerged on the scene as a soloist at the tail end of the new jack swing era, but in addition to new jack swing, other sub-genres on the album are west coast rap and G-funk. One of the songs from the album, "Freak Mode", sounds similar to Guy's "Goodbye Love" and the new jack group is clearly an influence on him. On cassette, he was credited as The Nature Boyz. Four years later, he released his follow-up, Mack Life, Vol. 1, on Mack Life Records. It found him collaborating with fellow west coast rappers, such as Too $hort. In 2000, he released his third album, Soul Of a Man, and returned to Video Uptown. On the last two albums, his stage name was shortened to Nature Boy. He also made feature appearances on others' songs such as Pastor Troy's "My N*ggaz Is In the Grind", which appeared on both I Am D.S.G.B. (2000) and Face Off (2001); Hitman Sammy Sam's "I Use To Love Ya", from Still Intoxicated (2002) and "What About It?", from The Step Daddy (2003); and 2 $ Fabo's "We Party (All Night Long)" and "We Got the Money" from the mixtape, We Amongst You. On the last two songs, he was credited as Nature Boi.
Discography[]
Albums[]
- 1995: Sweet Black Magic
- 1999: Mack Life, Vol. 1 (as Nature Boy)
- 2000: Soul Of A Man (as Nature Boy)