Search - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony :: Thug Stories

Short, pleasing album to finally add to the Bone collection

ctrx | 'bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks... | 09/20/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A full four years since their previous album, "Thug World Order", Bone Thugs-N-Harmony returns with "Thug Stories". This has been a four years filled with inner turmoil and change in the group, and the once quintet is reduced to a trio for this album, as Flesh-N-Bone remains incarcerated and Bizzy Bone has left the group for good. The remaining members Krayzie, Layzie, and Wish have quietly released this long awaited album on Koch Records. I have been a huge Bone fan for years and have patiently awaited this album for two years. However, this album is not the hugely awaited album fans have been wishing for. Prior to this album's release, BTNH signed a large contract with Swizz Beats and Interscope Records, and singles from the high-budget Interscope album have already been released. This album is meant more as a prelude to their comeback, quickly put together for an independent release. That said, the album is surprisingly great. The group sounds reenergized a lot of the time. Layzie, whose poor solo releases of late have been discouraging, sounds hungry again, Wish sounds improved, and Krayzie sounds amazing as always. This album is a departure from the Bone material of old, however. The cover and title "Thug Stories" is actually quite misleading. One hoping to hear a thuggish ruggish album like "E. 1999 Eternal" will not find it here. A lot of the tracks are soft, slow tracks having to do with love and women, unlike we've ever seen from Bone before. Of course there are a few that sound like the Bone of old, but the shuffled lineup and timeframe (2006) have probably changed the group a lot. Production is good, never mind-blowing or anything, but never bad. This album is really just a disc to whet Bone fans' appetites for what is to come. That said, "Thug Stories" is a disc I recommend fans pick up.



The album leads off with an awesome 2-minute intro which features the three rappers on a hardcore, thuggish rap delivered in their signature rapid-fire delivery over a great, tough beat. This is followed by the poorly placed "Call Me", a soft song directed for the ladies. Fans might say, "A song for the ladies by Bone?" which is rational because that has never been BTNH's style, but it's actually a lot better than you'd think, it has a nice beat and it's a pretty good song. "Thug Stories" has a good chorus from Kray and a good beat, it sounds like an old Bone track at first. The verses are all kind of muddled though, they're unrelated and kind of just tell random, irrelevant stories about urban life. "She Got Crazy" is a highlight, stories about women going crazy for them and aftermath. The production is really catchy. "Don't Stop" is another really nice song, it's directed to a lover and it uses the often sampled beat previously used in Warren G's "Super Soul Sis", Thug Life's "How Long Will They Mourn Me", Bruce Hathcock's "Everlasting", and a song from a few years back by Nelly. The verses are all nice though, Wish's verse is exceptionally heartfelt, and I love Layzie's vocals on the chorus. The beat is tried-and-true and sounds nice. "Do It Again" is the most surprising song here. It's a soft, happy track about laying back in the summer, with a chorus delivered by a female singer. The MCs reminisce about summertimes past, and it has a nice laidback beat. At first I couldn't believe Bone would try to make a summertime anthem like this, but after a few spins it became one of my favorite songs on the album, maybe if it came out a few months earlier it would have received some love. "So Sad" has nice production and a great chorus by Krayzie, but with the subject matter of "slimy, grimy, nasty women", I could have lived without it. "Fire" is a banging club track, with good production and a nice chorus. Once again, they sound like the Bone of old on "What You See (Reload)", a crazy warning song with gun threats and awesome delivery. "Stand Not In Our Way" is kind of a slowed-down version of the last song, also welcome. The album's best song to me was "Still No Surrender", a sequel to their classic anti-police anthem "No Surrender" from their 1994 Ep "Creepin' on ah Come Up". And while the subject matter is the same, one would not otherwise confuse the two. This one has an understated, upbeat backing with nice synths, and a truly great chorus ("Mr. Law Protecta / we don't respect ya / you take too many innocent lives..."). The raps are all top notch, it's another classic for the Bone vaults. The album ends with "This Life", a song I'm really enjoying about drama in their lives, it has cool production that sounds like a horror movie soundtrack.



This album has a lot of really great music on it, and although they demonstrate a different style than ever before, they also show that they're still Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, one of hip hop's greatest groups ever. If you're anything like me, that reason alone makes this album a must-buy. Unfortunately, this album will probably be remembered as one of their weaker efforts, but that's not to say anything bad about this, it's a testament to the other classics of their legendary catalog. Old fans should certainly enjoy this album, and new fans who jumped on the "Ridin' Dirty" bandwagon probably will too, it's good hip hop music. We'll all eagerly await the Interscope album, but until then, I'll enjoy "Thug Stories" thoroughly. Bone is certainly back."

Stand Not In Their Way, Stand Not In Their Way

Ricky Popolizio | Boston, MA | 09/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The criticism from hardcore, close-minded fans has been written like this: soft, short, silly and sadly stated, simply unsatisfactory to satisfy starving Bone fans.



But with Bone, what I have come to realize, without any effort, over the years has been that no album is going to be like the one before. It's like listening to Outkast, although I'm not quite as big a fan of BB and Andre as Bone, and I'm not quite as thrilled by the direction Andre has taken. Long before Krayzie said "All I'm Hearing on the radio, same thang," and explained that he is always looking to stay away from the hot industry trends, Bone was developing and changing and putting out creative, and always innovative stuff.



I don't see why fans seem so surprised by the direction of "Thug Stories." There were signs...i.e., "need your body," "not my baby," among many others. Both of those songs had were catchy and had great, flowing raps and solid, if not creative, production and the case is the same on TS. There was also criticism of songs like "Do it Again," for being again soft and silly, so with no anticipation and a finger ready to take me to the next song, I waited for the moment to come and it never did. I've only listened a few times, but the song is truly one of the best on the album and probably the furthest from anything Bone has ever done. As for the length, well when an album can be listened to from track one to track 12 without a necessary skip, even at 45 minutes, these days I consider it a long album.



Plus, if purchased at Best Buy, not here on amazon unfortunately, you will get the double version of the album which features three additional tracks - all three are album worthy with above-average guests spots. Also worthy of mention is that TS is being advertised with the singles "Fire" and "Don't Stop." I have been a big fan of the "Don't Stop" backdrop we all knew of long before Nelly highlighted his first album with the beat. And "Fire" to me is the low point of the album...that speaks to the strength of it. OK now to further silence any critics out there...



1. Intro - It is obvious, as many fans have pointed out, that this is not really an intro because it is two minutes long, And much better and longer than any intro. I love the eery, instrumental w/bone in the background intros, and we will probably get one of those on "Bone Thug Story," but I have no complaint on this intro. All three K L W flow nicely over this hard eery fast-paced album introduction.

2. Call Me - Some are calling this the low point of the album but I found it beyond enjoyable. I love the laid backJust call me call me...no you can call me when you're chillin all alone...or bein naughty cuz ur n**** not at home...very cool catchy chorus and I think every verse just hits right on with the beat. The type of song you could just relax in a hot tub with drinks and what not and love life.

3. Thug Stories - Title track is pretty good but the chorus is so-so and a little repetitive, but it's one of the few with the older bone feel. The beat is definately something to ride to. I agree the album title is a bit misleading for the content of most tracks, but all music, soft or not, tells a story. This track is definately one of the harder on the album.

4. She Got Crazy - "Cuz she gotta little bit crazy...I dont want no De-ranged lady." A lot of people are raving about this one. Krayzie definately swings a nice chorus, kinda funny, and the track itself is very different but it works for sure. Wish takes the first verse and his flow is damb good for Wish.

5. Don't Stop - It's that beat we all know - and if you don't know, now you know. K L W all rip through their parts, turning this soft single into a laid back enjoyable track. As expected, Bone bests all those others, including Nelly, who tried the beat.

6. Do It Again - This was the big shocker for me after hearing from a few fans that this track belonged in some bad club far away. This is another laid back track, almost as soft as Will Smith's summertime anthem, but the beat is so fresh and new with Bone exploring a completely different sound and they make it seem like we've never heard a summertime tune before. One of my favorites so far, and K L W all sing and rap with energy and emotion that you can feel. Each of them stakes their claim to why Bone is back more than ever in each verse. As Krayzie says in the chorus, Bone is always bringing back the definition of harmony. "Sweet breeze in the summertime, we're making everything all right, always keep you hypnotized, keep you feelin' oh so highhh!" That line pretty much sums up my feelings about this song and Bone.

7. So Sad - "all these slimy, grimy women...its so sad its so sad" Krayzie rants on this one. another upbeat, very different track for bone. I thought the krayzie's chorus was pretty slick and K L W keep up on this up-tempo track with three solid verses. I thought Layzie was particularly on target here with an excellent rapid-fire verse. Wish too.

8. Fire - Kind of like a mix of Bizzy's...the roof is on fire and krayzie's...let me get you twisted man...this single has fast tight raps but an annoying beat and more annoying chorus. If you like this song a little (me), or even like it a lot, I would think you would love the album because the rest is so much better and fresh.

9. What U See [Reload] - The beginning of the end of the album - starting here, the last four songs are all great and all are a step away from the soft sound. Quick-tounge delivery and gun shots sounding the background fuel this fast paced song. Absolutly classic beat.

10. Stand Not in Our Way - This may be my favorite song on the album - you can roll, dance, lay back, pretty much do anything to this one. The chorus is absolutly great and Krayzie's repeated "stand not in our way stand not in our way" is etched into my mind right now. The production is very creative and this song really just defines Bone's venture into new sounds and succeeding at it.

11. Still No Surrender - Obviously, many people are embracing this very different sequel. With good reason - the chorus is one of the best of the album, all great raps and a good high energy vibe.

12. This Life - Another different sound - more toward that dark sound although nothing like the old stuff. Still its yet another solid track all around that closes out the album nicely.



I will comment on the three bonus track later once I have the listing, but in general, there are some obvious positives here. The guest appearences from Lareece, Thin C and one other I am forgetting right now are actually very good, unlike in many cases in the past where songs have been dragged down by Thug Line or Mo Thug artists. All three songs are very upbeat and have above average production. Definately a worthy addition and a good enough reason to opt out of an easier purchase and get to Best Buy. This was the best 10 bucks I've spent in some time. Five stars to this album, with the lowest rating for a track at 3 of 5 for "Fire."



There's plenty more to comment here but after just one and some listens, I can definately say I was more than satisfied and actually pleasantly surprised of what Bone minus Bizzy brought to the table. Almost every song featured great, fast-flowing, quick tongued raps over fresh beats and choruses that were as usual characterized by Krazyie's one-of-a-kind ability. Where Thug World Order also sounded quite different for Bone at the time, it was a little more dry and seemed to have less emotion and innovation spread out over the album. This is definately a slightly more complete effort I think, and while certainly softer, it was a positive change of pace for the most part. I think there will be plenty more serious hardcore raps to come, most likely, starting on the next album, Bone Thug Story, due December (so it has been reported). If BTS is as much better than TS as it has been rumored to be, with all the super producers and big-name artists joining BTNH, it should rank among the best, if not the best Bone album ever. For now, I can definately appreciate what I have at ear, and with Layzie's "Cleveland" arriving next month, December will be here in no time. Thanks again to Bone for making life more enjoyable and more harmonious. It's all music, Bone Thug music."

Theres still no surrender

the_urban_prince | Birmingham, Alabama United States | 09/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"bone still showing that they have it on this short low key album.expectations for this album was low from alot of hardcore bone fans.but if you over look the content their stylisticly solid as they always have been.the trio still shows that the music is still in them even without bizzy,and flesh.and their lyrics get more and more mature.





1."Intro"-this short track is strait fire,pure and simple.this track shows bone still has the chemistry.it also shows that wish and layzie aren't "dead weight" to krayzie bone,and bizzy bone fans who seem to think those two (krayzie,and bizzy) make the whole group.but thats neither here nor there,eitherway 3 great back to back hard verses.



2."Call Me"-a song that most fans won't like as it deal with women.but if you look past that its actually a decent song with solid veres from all 3.



3."Thug Stories"-is exactly what the title says,"thug stories".each member has a thug story to tell.not really about them but just random individual stories.thug stories mostly tell of innocent by standers who just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,ending in tragedy.granted thug stories is not as engaging as previous story telling tracks from bone's past like sons of assassins,hell-sent,and down 71.but they deffinatly paint a vivid picture.



4."She Got Crazy"-basically a song about girls they meet that SEEMS normal but then becomes crazy.its blah imho a weak track off the cd



5."Dont Stop"-a love song but the verses are so smooth and melodic you won't care,solid track.



6."Do It Again"-THIS IS MY JAM!!! probably the most underrated track off of the cd.they sample lets do it again by the staple singers.krayzie sings the chorus with assistance from Alexis Jones.its basically one of those feel good summer trax great song,great verses great chorus.soon as the bass hits at the verry begining you just wanna get up and dance.wich is verry unusual for a bone track.unless of course you count "all good" by felicia.



7."So Sad"-is a song about slimy women who try to get pregnant in order to trap men for their money.interesting chorus but it really doesn't do it for me.



8."Fire"-a club banger type track thats sort of in the same vein as bizzy bone's "on fire",pretty solid song.



9."What You See (Reload)"-a hard track through and through,and krayzie bone comes in HARD!.it also has a heavy synth beat that compliment each verse.





10."Stand Not In Our Way"-is a song basically telling the devil not to stand in their way.great introspective spiritual track thats tells about the thugs internal spiritual struggle.





11."Still No Surrender"-besides do it again this is probably the watermark track of the album.somewhat of a sequel to "no surrender" off of the creepin on ah come up album.basically talking about cops,and police brutality,and the damage they have done to victim's family's.verry strong song arguably the best cut.





12."This Life"-another great introspective track that talks about the mistakes they have made in their life and give a warning to all the young people who wanna live the "thug life".





all in all a verry solid album,if your a rational bone fan then you'll see the good in this album.watch out for the major interscope album late this year."