Search - Bizzy Bone :: Midwest Cowboy

Another decent Bizzy release

ctrx | 'bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks... | 07/11/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Bizzy Bone has really lived up to his name over the past months, releasing 8 albums over the past year and a half, with at least two more scheduled for this year. Call him crazy or schizophrenic or what you will, but Bizzy's rap career is definitely going in a new direction. "The Midwest Cowboy" is his second release for Real Talk Ent., following "The Story" in March which I enjoyed. "The Midwest Cowboy" is another decent album, marked by better production than he's had in the past and great lyricism. Bizzy has endured a lot in his recent lifetime, so he has lots of material to work with. On this album, like on "The Story", Bizzy seems very spiritual, often citing the lord and Jesus. A few weeks before this release, Bizzy surprised fans by converting to Islam. This album was apparently recorded before his conversion, but for the first time this sadly makes me question Bizzy's credibility. I found that "The Midwest Cowboy" was not quite as good as "The Story", which had a lot of deeply emotional and personal songs. "Cowboy" has a little of everything, some club songs, some fast harder songs, and some softer ones. I wish that instead of pumping out a pretty good album every two months, Bizzy would take his time and make a really great album. Until that time, "The Midwest Cowboy" is pretty good.



The first full song, "Around the World", is very promising, marked by a great beat and rapid-fire delivery from BB. "It's The Light" and "Lovey Dovey" are both pretty good tracks but nothing that I will listen to much in the future. The true standout track on this album is the excellent "Thugs Need Love Too" which should go down as one of the better songs of his career. It has great production from Playalitical, and Bizzy delivers a heartfelt verse with a great chorus. If you're a Bizzy fan, you'll feel like you've heard "When the Sky Falls" before, and the same could pretty much be said of "Wit A $20 Bill". "All We Can Be" is a great song, one of the best on the disc. It has an encouraging message and a great beat with synths and keyboards. "Doin' It Wrong" featuring Playalitical is a bass-heavy club banger that really doesn't fit Bizzy's style or the theme of the album at all. "Blown Away" is a nice chilled-out song, almost reminiscent of the weed songs of his past. "What Do We Say" is a very nice song all around, with a nice chorus, lyrics that were obviously very well thought out, and a good instrumental. "Come, Go, See, Know" closes out the album nicely with a good song.



Casual hip hop fans should know that Bizzy is a very unique artist and will not necessarily appeal to everyone. Fans of Bizzy's early career with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and his first solo albums should also know that he is a very different artist now. But for fans that enjoyed "The Story" or "Thugs Revenge", I recommend this album as well. I found that it was not quite as good as "The Story" but was pretty enjoyable anyway, the best songs basically making it worth the purchase."

A Step Back In The Right Direction

N3R0 | Story City, Iowa | 09/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is hard for me to say, but this is probably Bizzy's second best cd. The beats (for the most part) bang, and Bizzy sticks to doing what he does best: spit between well-sung choruses. Okay, the Christian overtones have (thankfully) taken a backseat on this cd. Playalitical does a good job providing Bizzy unique and dope backdrops to do his thing. The first song is really dope, but too short. Also, the inclusion of skits (including one that seems to be drug-induced rambling about Jesus) doesn't help the cause of an album that's only 15 tracks deep (including both skits and the short intro/song). "Around the World" has to be the albums high-point as it showcases the best of Bizzy. Playalitical likes to mess with the way Bizzy records his vocals, and I think it's very original and adds a lot to the "evolution" of Bizzy, as sometimes it seems as though he's rapping like it's 1998. The influence of the album's producer is evident all over this album (and that's a GREAT thing). I don't think the direction-less Bizzy found on previous albums could do the great harmonizations as seen on "Thugs Need Love Too" or the amazing chorus from "What Do We Say?". The artistic growth leads to some more good ol' confusing and confounding hypocrisy with tracks like "Lovey Dovey" finding their sonic and moral opposites in songs like "$20 Bill" and "Doin It Wrong". The pleading to Bizzy's ex-wife to see his child on "I Must Fess Up" are deeply personal and a great addition to Bizzy's repetoire of songs. This is a good cd, but it's a tad short and "If the Sky Falls" doesn't tell us anything we haven't heard from Bizzy before. "Blown Away" doesn't match the caliber of weed-smoking anthems Bizzy's capable of. Bust mostly it's the off-kilter electric piano melody throwing me off, as well as the pointless guest appearance. All in all, this is a good album, and I hope Bizzy continues evolving and even working with Playalitical (it seems Bizzy pumps out alright albums every few months, each on a different lable with different producers and artists...prolific, but disappointing).

"

Another solid one from B!

R. Ealom | Denver,USA | 08/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is another breather album. I'm glad and proud to say that Bizzy still continues to do what is from the heart.Listening to B's last few albums has kept my love going for REAL hip hop. Though the production was lacking in his past albums; like most have criticized. I myself am able to look past that and see that this man is making music from the soul. If you listen to his music for what corporate rap has to offer you will be greatly dissapointed. Listen to his heart as he is able to spill it to those whom want to listen."