Like every Bone release since Art of War, I really
didn’t expect much from Strength & Loyalty off the Swizz-owned
Interscope imprint Full SurfaceRecords.
All of the turmoil and internal struggles Krayzie, Layzie, Wish
and the rest were having always seemed to be super evident in their music. As a
result, just about everything they have done in the last decade has been
scattered and without focus, lacking any sense of unity or direction. To my
surprise, Strength & Loyalty is actually somewhat focused and
thankfully, it seems the group really put their hearts into this album and the
production and management teams were in full support.
Swizz, Neo, Will.I.Am. Jermaine Dupri, Akon, Toomp, The Individuals
and Pretty Boy man the production of Strength &
Loyalty. “C-Town,”
an ode to both Cleveland and the Chi, is a definite album standout. How can you
not dig a Bone collaboration with former foe Twista?
I never thought I would say this, but I love two Akon songs,
and both are on this album! The lead single “I Tried”serves as a nice prelude for the vibe of the entire album and “Never Forget Me” is all
kinds of ill. Who knew Bone Thugs-N-Harmony would become
seasoned, grown men in the game, but the maturity and wisdom on this record is
impossible to ignore. “9mm” is another gem for anyone hoping for a trip back to
the days Eazy Ewas in the picture. “Wind Blow” is
the quintessential “Hate/Love” joint of the album. It’s a little awkward
sounding relative to the rest of the album, and “The Chain” may have been sampled
a billion times since Fleetwood Macreleased
it 30 years ago – but I don’t give a shit; it has such a smooth summertime
feeling and Bone do it justice.
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However, Strength & Loyalty
definitely has its fair share of missteps. The problem may be, ironically
enough, that they tried too hard. It seems that in order to compensate for an
army of scattered songs and collabs in the past, they pushed to make an album
that appealed to everyone. And with so many people with so many different
tastes, the record comes off almost too mainstream and formulaic. Sped-up soul
samples? Check. Gangsta shootings and hustling? Check. Preachy, gospel track
with Yolanda Adams? Check. Game talking about
his hood? Jeezy’esque southern beats? Check and Check – Ok,
that should cover just about every commercial demographic, this has to be
popular! [Nope.] Oh, and there’s one song called “Lil Love” featuring Mariah
Carey and Lil Bow Wow [see: Making a wrong turn and
ending up in 2001… the shitty parts of 2001]
Once upon a time, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony took the Hip Hop
world by storm thanks to the undisputed classic E. 1999 Eternal. The
melodic harmonies, light speed flows and potent rhymes the five Cleveland, Ohio
natives brought to the table was worlds beyond anything the music world had
scene before. The Grammy-winning single “Crossroads” remains today as one of the
most loved non-dance Hip Hop records [by those outside of Hip Hop].
Unfortunately though, somewhere down the road, the impact and praise for the
quintet-turned-quartet-turned-trio began to slip. Call it label disputes, legal
problems or internal conflicts, there is no arguing that in the average
listeners mind, Bone Thugs have almost completely faded away
into obscurity. Hopefully, their signing to industry juggernaut Interscope
thanks really is a new beginning. Rarely will you see me thanking or
praising ol’ Swizzy, but if he’s the man who can end that all
that political bullshit, the dude gets daps from me. A surprisingly strong
‘debut’ release like the new Strength & Loyalty deserves its share
of praise as well.
