TNT of NATAS: A True Pioneer is Gone but not Forgotten
12/20 is starting to become a date in underground rap history that is synonymous with losing legends. 12/20/13 was the date that pioneering member of Three 6 Mafia, Lord Infamous died of a heart attack at his Mother’s kitchen table in Memphis. A year to the date 12/20/14 at roughly 1am in the morning the underground was struck once again with the sudden death of Wicketshit Legend and Pioneering member of NATAS, Terry “TNT” Jones. He was driving and struck a parked van, he was thrown from the vehicle.
Who is TNT? Just like in his popular solo song “Who Am I?” off the debut NATAS album “Life After Death” in 1992 on Reel Life Productions. I did not know TNT personally, but through his music I felt I was able to connect with a very talented and highly underrated artist. An artist that was virtually slept on his whole career.
Along with Esham, and Mastamind, the trio set the stage literally on fire and blazed trails that many others have followed. I am a music journalist and followed the careers of Esham and NATAS and in 1998 was able to introduce RLP to the world of Murder Dog Magazine which landed the group on the cover the following year to promote the classic NATAS album WWW.Com
I am proud that I was able to help spread the word about Esham and NATAS to different areas through Murder Dog.
I feel privileged to be one of the few to have reviewed TNT’s music but to also let the people know how strong his influence was. The bottom line is there would be no Eminem or ICP if it were not for RLP (Esham & NATAS) and TNT was a huge part of that.
TNT has several solo songs throughout the NATAS catalog and was also featured on many of Esham’s classic albums. One of the things I always wanted to hear was a TNT solo album. I was waiting on “Tony Montana Mob Music” first announced to drop in 1996, then many years later “Suicide Bomber”, but unfortunately TNT never dropped any solo projects.
Acid Rap opened up doors for many and TNT was a major factor. Even before the first NATAS album TNT was there to support his friend Esham with his solo albums. But once the group formed you could tell this was something that was never heard before within the rap game. You had a trio of terror bombing the shit outta the rap game and making an impact felt from state to state.
Detroit and the Mid-West cannot deny who set the bar, nor who kicked shit off. Your average person thinks Eminem is the Godfather of Detroit Hiphop, but who made it possible for him? RLP made it possible!
Regardless of the music left behind, the legacy, the memories, there is a young man who will no longer be able to see his family gone forever. At Underground Society, UGS Radio, Murder Master Music Show, KFYB, COR, and Underground Classics we all pay our respects to TNT and to his family.
Enjoy this YouTube Mix of some of his solo songs
Rest In Peace Terry “TNT” Jones 
