''WicketWorldWide.COM'' is the fifth album by

Natas The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...

. Released in 1999, it is the group's last release on

Reel Life Productions Reel Life Productions, also known as Gothom Records, is an independent record label based in Detroit, Michigan most associated with the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. The label was founded in 1989 by James H. Smith and his younger brother, rapper E ...

(then known as Gothom/Overcore) until 2006's ''

N of tha World ''N of tha World'' is the seventh studio album by Natas. Released in 2006, it was the group's first album released by Reel Life Productions since 1999's '' WicketWorldWide.COM'', although there were claims that there was no newly recorded materia ...

''. WicketWorldWide.com is credited as one of the greatest hip hop albums of 1999 by

XXL magazine ''XXL'' is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997. History In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of ''XXL''. It featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006 ...

Music and lyrics

''WicketWorldWide.COM'' differentiates itself from previous Natas albums in showcasing live instrumentation courtesy of the $500,000.00 advance Esham was given by

TVT Records TVT Records (Tee-Vee Tunes) was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 24-year history, the label released 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, ...

when he signed a distribution deal to TVT in October 1999. TVT even provided a studio with help from Johnathon Scott Santos who has produced and mixed albums for bands including

Circle Jerks Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Circle ...

and former Esham backing bands 20 Dead Flower Children and The Workhorse Movement. Esham took advantage of the live band instead of the focus on heavy sampling that previous group albums featured. Allmusic described the sound as "a potent collage of gritty hip-hop beats with an aggressive

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

tone", noting the relevance of this sound in relation to the group's influence on

rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...

artists like

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

and

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

. Murder Dog magazine rated this album #1 of all rap albums released in 1999. Allmusic also noted a step forward in lyrical content, writing "It's just far too hard to stomach his group's blatant theatrics of old -- raunchy sex, Satanic baiting, unnecessary morbidity, an overall sense of utter irresponsibility, violent gang mentality".

Cover art

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch High Resolution

The album cover was designed by Myron Matthew Kozuch-Rea. The design features the iconic "NATAS" logo along with the "Wicket World Wide.COM" strategically placed in front of the middle part of

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oa ...

's famous oil painting

The Garden of Earthly Delights ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'' is the modern title given to a triptych oil painting on oak panel painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. It has bee ...

. When asked about the cover in an interview in 2008 when promoting his album Sacrifical Lambz. Esham stated that "The painting matched the concept of the album's title and gave the album its true identity."

Release and reception

Natas released the album on October 26, 1999, during "The Armageddon Show". The concert gained attention from TVT records and they re-released the album on January 4, 2000, with a different cover. The original cover contained red letters where the TVT release was purple letters. TVT also sponsored a tour for Esham and Natas which featured other midwest horrorcore rap groups Halfbreed and Bedlam. The TVT Records edition of ''WicketWorldWide.COM'' was released in a limited edition, which contained a bonus EP featuring 2 Natas songs from their previous album Multikillionaire: The Devil's Contract, an old esham song "The Fear (Morty's Theme), and an unreleased song titled "I Wind". Allmusic reviewer Jason Birchmeier wrote "It may have taken

Esham Esham is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Esham released his debut studio album, '' Boomin' Words from Hell'', in 1989. Since then, he has gone on to release 15 studio albums in total and is best known as a representative of the hip ...

nearly a decade to guide his group to this point, but the slow evolution and persistence on his part finally pays off: This is an important album, even if it didn't sell many copies." MTV often played part of the instrumental for the song "Like A Spirit" in a loop for promotional commercial's for the final season of their show Undressed.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

*Esham: Performer *Mastamind: Performer *TNT: Performer

Production

*Producer: Esham *Producer: Santos *Programming: Esham, Santos *Arranger: Esham *Liner notes: Esham

References

{{Authority control 1999 albums Albums produced by Esham Natas (group) albums Reel Life Productions albums