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You say the name Bone
Thugs, my mind immediately springs to "East 1999 Eternal",
or perhaps I hear a female voice chanting "It's the
thuggish ruggish bone", yet even
still the enchanting "Crossroads" may come to mind. One step
further? Sure, how about Mo
Thugs "Family Scriptures"? My point?
Well, the Cleveland group has a
pretty astonishing track record, but latter releases such as
"The Art of War" as well as independent releases did not seem
to have the same impact as their
incredible start. These men need no introduction, what they do
need however is redemption which is what they are
hoping to bring with their latest
release which signifies their official regrouping "Thug World
Order".
The CD kicks off with "T.W.O. Intro", the tympanies roll and
we hear an intro reminiscent of
"East 1999 Eternal" which rolls right into "Bone, Bone, Bone",
having an old school feel of Bone, a bouncy bass-line
and the speedy flow that brings back
memories, the chorus leaves much to desire however, very plain
and there is not a single extra word outside the name
of the track.
"Guess Who's Back", I'll give you one chance to guess what
this song is about. A 1980
chorus loop from "My Boyfriend's back" (I think that's the
title), and Bone Thugs are back and
we are apparently going to be in trouble. A smart mix of laid
back and uptempo at the same time, once again, pretty decent
flow, no lyrical complexity but it
sounds nice, however the hook is scary. Next, we
have "Home", watch out for 80's flashbacks when you
hear this beat, but it is actually
done in a way that doesn't hurt my ears which is a first for
any song from the 80's. The chorus
borrows another loop from the 80's, I do not know the
song it samples though, but it does sound far superior than
anything thus far. I'm definitely
feeling this joint.
After hearing "Home" I am optimistic once again since popping
in this CD, the next track "What
About Us" features some light organ music with an attempt at
thought provoking lyrics and a self-reflective beat. They
don't really pull it off though it
isn't a bad track, it just doesn't have the full effect they
were going for, but it is one of their better songs on
the line-up. "Get Up & Get It" featuring
3LW & Felecia is the first official release from "Thug
World Order" and does what they set
out to do, which is to reintroduce Bone back into the hip hop
mainstream, blending a feel of pop
and that thuggish ruggish bone we all remember.
"All The Way" is a very melodic soulish type of track, with a
beat that just may have come from an
R&B song, not too shabby, there's some flow that is a
must-hear, not that there is something that is just
tight lyrically but it
just sounds so nice that I have to push rewind just to let it
tickle my ears again. The chorus is
lacking but at this point it is to be expected.
Switching the pace from easy flowing, we shift gears right
into "Pump, Pump", full of shotgun
pumps as the name would indicate, a thin beat filled out
mostly by vocals. Once again, the
chorus could have used a little work but the verses
meet that crave for Bone's fast and furious style. Next
we are definitely going to "Set It
Straight", another song dealing with their identity, great
production
work here. I'm feeling the beat, but there is some out of
place singing out the end that puts
a big hurt on the track.
"Money, Money" finally has a decent chorus that I just may
find myself chanting after the end
of the song. I love the beat, there is a jazz type singer in
the very back that adds tremendously
to the effect. Our Cleveland friends spit
about being broke and triumphing in their life, really nice
production work once again.
Unfortunate. My point of reference? This next track "Not My
Baby". What exactly is unfortunate
you ask? A waste of a perfectly good beat, it's a nice beat
too, yet it is without a doubt
wasted on a garbage song. From the topic of a "lovechild"
that isn't theirs, to the excuse for a chorus to the
verses, it's all trash with the
exception of the beat. Avant joins our notorious thugs on
"Cleveland Is The
City" although Avant doesn't show up until over halfway
through the song. The beat goes by
unnoticed, the chorus never produces anything worthwhile since
it is oversimplified and Avant is
never really utilized except as a finishing touch,
this track is quickly forgettable. We finish the
journey with "If I Fall", a tribute
to streetlife. The hook is one of the better ones, most of the
verses are just okay, not quite as
nice as most of the other verses on the cd.
I have always been a huge fan of Bone's style of light and
quick flow, and they once again
showcase it in a lot of good ways with very few verses not
meeting the
standard. Not much to look forward to as far as a "complete"
song goes, but there are exceptions
such as "Home" and "What About Us" that make valiant attempts
at stepping up their game. Depending
on where you're from and your taste, the bad
may outweigh the good since there are at least 3 tracks
that cover the same topic of "We're
bone, you better recognize" which gets very old almost as fast
as their speech, and also most of
the CD's choruses are so dang forgettable.
Redemption? Not quite, maybe the next release will
offer something more memorable.
Big points taken off for lack of variety and creative
approach, but I have to give big points to production since
there is a good selection of nice beats, and I also love their
style and group dynamics, 3 Planets.
Track Listing:
01 T.W.O. Intro
02 Bone, Bone, Bone
03 Guess Who's Back feat. LaReece
04 Home
05 What About Us
06 Get Up & Get It feat. 3LW & Felecia
07 All The Way
08 Pump, Pump
09 Set It Straight
10 Money, Money
11 Not My Baby
12 Cleveland Is The City feat. Avant
13 If I Fall
Skrabble Rating: 3 out of 5
Planets
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