Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, "Strength & Loyalty"

the track that samples "the chain" is fucking killlllerrrrrrr

"wind blow" is what its called

yeah there's a whole buncha very mellow seventies samples, swizz beats in a late-night mood, classic introspective slightly sad defiant bone thugs groove...I'd be surprised to learn that it was getting any radio play anywhere, 'cause I think the feeling is "they had their moment," but this is seriously a wonderful wonderful album with all kinds of cool things going on in the intros & outros (esp. as "C-Town" fades) and that apocalyptic up-close-and-personal religious thing in "Order My Steps (Dear Lord)"

just a treat, a real treat, this record

I'd be surprised to learn that it was getting any radio play anywhere, 'cause I think the feeling is "they had their moment,"

oh no way dude--"i tried" is getting played all the time out here on KDAY and power 106! but possibly just because it features akon, who appears to have signed some kind of deal with the cigarette-smoking man.

live and learn! that's great news - is KDAY the one at the far right end of the AM dial? Akon does pretty much guarantee some level of play right now for sure but the song is just great anyway, glad to hear it's getting spins

93.5 on the FM. but it's not just popular in LA--i think "i tried" has been on the billboard top 10 for a couple weeks now. i can't speak for anyone but my friends, really, but bone thugs have always commanded a v. high level of respect for most people that i know (only group to have recorded with both 2pac AND biggie while they were still alive!). and krayzie had a great guest verse on "ridin" last summer which probably just reminded everyone how great these guys can be.

but yeah this album is pretty great; they haven't changed their style significantly and that's a good thing.

to be honest though ive mostly just been skipping to "wind blow" and only listening to the rest of the album intermittently... not because i dislike it, but i forgot how good the mac is and how much better they are when the bone family is involved

yeah it's leagues better than the one they put out last year, "thug stories" I think (thought it did have that one great song "She Got Crazy" or whatever it was called) - I had affection for that one, but it wasn't really anything to write home about

this one's just wonderful, somebody somewhere was saying that Bizzy finally being gone sorta forced them to dig deeper and maybe that's true - there's something really personal about their raps that's just really moving to me, like when they address both Bizzy & Flesh-N-Bone on "So Good So Right"

the first week or so it was all about "wind blow" to me too though, the stuttering drum stuff in the chorus is like a speed rush

i concur w you two that its one of the better rap albums i've heard this year for sure

Haven't heard the rest of the album yet, but "I Tried" is all aces in my book.

I need to get this. I wasn't into their last album that much but First of the Month might be my favorite rap song ever.

its good. wish some of the production was better but its good. or at least THEY are still really good.

Also haven't heard the album, but "I Tried" suuuuuucks. Overwrought melodrama (almost as bad as "Runaway Love"!) with a boring Akon hook...It's no "Tha Crossroads."

i miss their old producers.

"i tried" is like the OPPOSITE of melodrama, tape store! it's world-weary resignation!

this record, first track in and i already feel like posting it's awesome

the drank helps but...it is

second track starts off like old cheese though

i hate Akon, if i could just delete him from I Tried it would be perfect

i jus feel the pashun running thru dis

this thread cannot go any longer without a mention of the awesomeness that is "Flowmotion," so I am mentioning it now.

this record, first track in and i already feel like posting it's awesome

Willl.IIIA<>AMN needs to b desroyed tho

severe second half dip

Overwrought melodrama ...It's no "Tha Crossroads."

yes if only it could be a model of emotional restraint like "tha crossroads"

ZING

sort of unrelated: but are any of bizzy bone's post-bone thugs records worth checking out?

Overwrought melodrama ...It's no "Tha Crossroads."

yes if only it could be a model of emotional restraint like "tha crossroads"

-- deej, Monday, 4 June 2007 17:33 (22 minutes ago) Link

UHHHHHHHH....If only it wasn't contrived and had some semblance of a goddamn (memorable) hook. BTW, where's the HARMONY?!?!?!? Now it's just Sappy Thugs-n-Akon. TERRIBLE

sort of unrelated: but are any of bizzy bone's post-bone thugs records worth checking out?

yes especially The Gift I think it was called

also "I Tried" hook > "Crossroads" hook

it's fine to be sentimental about when the band was more exciting and new but it's silly to say "I don't like it, so the hook isn't memorable" - of course it is, there's a reason everybody on the planet is hiring Akon to sing hooks and that's because his hooks stick in your brain

"I don't like it, so the hook isn't memorable"

NOOOOOO. I don't like it because the hook isn't memorable. It isn't about sentimentality; I never even listened to Bone Thugs back then! There's no BT nostalgia (the only song I remember from them was that great one on the Batman soundtrack)

"Tha Crossroads" is just a much more powerful song, and its hook is AWESOME (heeeeeeeyyyyyy and we pray and we pray and we pray, everyday, everyday, everyday SEE YOU AT THE CROSSROAD CROSSROAD crossroCaRdOSSROAcDrSossroCadRsOSSROADS! ...and I'm gonna miss everybody, and I'm gonna miss everybody...). That, combined with the far superior (both more complex and more unique) verses = something much more memorable. I'm having trouble even remembering what "I Try" sounds like, other than limp and desperate.

severe second half dip

I got no time for the halloween theme schtick anymore so the first half is a bit rougher going for me, beat-wise, though it probably has the highlights (flowmotion, wind blow; hot). I'm liking some of the breezier stuff in the last half. Toast 2 That might be my favorite other than those others. I Tried is good, I'm not tired of it on the radio quite yet. "I Tried" hook > "Crossroads" hook is scorched earth lunacy cut it out and play fair!

i wish the beats were better... cos theyre still really on form.

ok i'm realizing i'm hearing leaked tracks or something. 23 tracks. What is 'everyday thugs' from? Bizzy ripped it, like maybe the best verse on the album but then i realized he's not supposed to be on this at all.