Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - Behind The Harmony (2006) 01. Do You Remember? Cause I'm Bone, Bone (feat. Bobby Brown) (03:16) 03. When the Lord Comes (feat. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony New Waves ALBUM ZIP DOWNLOAD Bizzy Bone and Krayzie Bone are Bone Thugs. Iconic Cleveland group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. 1999 Eternal. The album was certified quadruple Platinum by the in June 1998. It was the first double-album from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
The Art of War | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 29, 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1996-1997 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 121:14 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Bone Thugs-n-Harmony chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Art of War | ||||
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![Bone Bone](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125875396/823663941.jpg)
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[2] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
The Source |
The Art of War is the third studio album by hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony which was released on July 29, 1997. The album sold 394,000 units in its first week of release. The album was certified quadruple Platinum by the RIAA in June 1998. It was the first double-album from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. The album included the platinum-single 'Look into My Eyes', and the gold-single 'If I Could Teach the World'. The whole album is produced by DJ U-Neek.
A sequel to the album The Art of War: World War III was released on December 10, 2013.
- 5Track listing
Background[edit]
The album was rumored to be called 'DNA Level C' which is Cleveland backwards. 'The Art of War' was created largely as a response to rappers deemed 'Clones' (copycats) by the group. Such rappers included Do or Die, Crucial Conflict, Twista & The Speedknots & Three 6 Mafia.
In the wake of his father's death and Tomica Wright now heading Ruthless, Bizzy Bone was not happy, and thus did not appear for many shows or promotions. Now calling the shots, many tracks were altered by Tomica Wright, attempting to head the group into a new direction. Such tracks include Thug Luv with Sylk-E. Fyne, If I Could Teach the World, Friends, Ready For War and many others. While the group appeared at Sprite Nite on BET, Keenan Ivory Wayans (with Bizzy), and several other promotions, their tour began to lag without Bizzy.
Music and lyrics[edit]
In 'Ready 4 War,' Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (along with Mr. Majesty) called out Crucial Conflict directly by name, with Majesty even stating, 'I'll watch you ride the rodeo straight to the bottom'.
In 'U Ain't Bone', Layzie Bone raps a line similar to the chorus from female rap icon MC Lyte's '10% dis'. MC Lyte's chorus raps 'Beat biter! Dope style taker! Tell it to your face, you ain't nuttin but a faker!', while Layzie Bone's verse interpolates 'They beat biters, dope-style takers. When I see you face-to-face, my nigga, I'm-a treat you like a hater.' In 2000, MC Lyte stated that she was 'extremely' disrespected by Layzie Bone, Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown's lyrical interpolations of her '10% Dis' lines. Layzie interpolated the chorus on 'U Ain't Bone', while Kim and Brown interpolated the beginning verse, 'Hot damn, ho, here we go again!' on Mobb Deep's 'Quiet Storm' (Remix) and Capone-N-Noreaga's 'Bang-Bang', respectively. This resulted in MC Lyte calling out all of the three rappers on the Rah Digga-collaborated, 'Where U At Mama?'[4]
They also changed the name of 'Friends' for the cassette version to 'How Many of Us Have Them'. 2Pac wrote his verse for 'Thug Luv' in 1 minute and 51 seconds as confirmed by Bizzy Bone.
Singles[edit]
The first single for this album was Look Into My Eyes, which was also on the Batman & Robin soundtrack. Neither Bizzy nor Flesh-n-Bone was featured in the video. The next single was 'If I Could Teach the World'. Bizzy did not appear in this video either. 'Thug Luv' and 'Body Rott' were also released to radio as singles.
Critical reception[edit]
The Art of War received mostly positive reviews from music critics, with some critics calling the album sonically superior to its predecessor, E. 1999 Eternal. While others criticizing the album for its length, including extended disses towards other rappers, leading to repetitive song play. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said, 'While the group is capable of producing a catchy single, they don't have the personality to sustain an album, much less a double-disc set. By the end of the second disc, they have repeated all of their ideas at least five times apiece, and only a few of those ideas resulted in actual songs in the first place.'[5] J.D. Considine of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a 'B' rating, stating, 'Lest the smooth sound of 'Look Into My Eyes' leaves you thinking the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are really just pop-friendly softies, this 28-song double disc, The Art of War, offsets its slow-and-sweet numbers with bloodthirsty workouts like the shotgun-spiked 'Thug Luv'. But after two hours of these singsong melodies, War seems more like a siege than a surgical strike.'[6] Rolling Stone gave the album three and a half stars out of a possible five.[3] Krayzie Bone said in a 2015 interview with HipHopDX that The Art of War was Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's best album, even better than E. 1999 Eternal. Comparing to Eternal, whose songs he claimed were planned and written years before they were recorded, where in contrast The Art of War consisted entirely of newer material that he and the other group members had sat in the studio to create. The response to these statements from mainstream media and fans has been evenly divided. Rapper Wiz Khalifa included the album in his list of '25 Favorite Albums' for Complex.
Track listing[edit]
All tracks produced by DJ U-Neek
World War 1 | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | 'Retaliation (Intro)' | Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, DJ U-Neek | 2:21 |
2. | 'Handle The Vibe' | Antoinette Colandreo, BTNH, U-Neek | 4:40 |
3. | 'Look into My Eyes' | BTNH, U-Neek | 4:19 |
4. | 'Body Rott' | BTNH, U-Neek | 5:01 |
5. | 'It's All Mo' Thug' | BTNH, U-Neek | 5:12 |
6. | 'Ready 4 War' (featuring Mr. Maje$ty) | Majesty, Marilyn McLeod, Pam Sawyer, BTNH, U-Neek | 4:36 |
7. | 'Ain't Nothin' Changed (Everyday Thang Part II)' | Barry J. Eastmond, BTNH, U-Neek | 4:43 |
8. | 'Clog Up Yo Mind' | BTNH, U-Neek | 5:01 |
9. | 'It's All Real - performed by Krayzie Bone' | Krayzie Bone, BTNH, U-Neek | 5:08 |
10. | 'Hard Times (Skit)' | BTNH, U-Neek | 2:49 |
11. | 'Mind of a Souljah - performed by Layzie Bone' | Layzie Bone, BTNH, U-Neek | 4:39 |
12. | 'If I Could Teach the World' | BTNH, U-Neek | 4:24 |
13. | 'Family Tree' | K. McCord, BTNH, U-Neek | 5:49 |
World War 2 | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | 'Mo' Thug (Skit)' | BTNH, U-Neek | 1:40 |
2. | 'Thug Luv' (featuring 2Pac) | 2Pac, BTNH, U-Neek | 5:08 |
3. | 'Hatin' Nation' | BTNH, U-Neek | 5:12 |
4. | '7 Sign - performed by Bizzy Bone' (featuring Mr. Maje$ty) | Bizzy Bone, BTNH, U-Neek | 4:48 |
5. | 'Wasteland Warriors' (featuring Souljah Boy) | Souljah Boy, BTNH, U-Neek | 4:28 |
6. | 'Neighborhood Slang (Skit)' | BTNH, U-Neek | 1:29 |
7. | 'U Ain't Bone' | BTNH | 5:04 |
8. | 'Get Cha Thug On - performed by Wish Bone (featuring Tre)' | Wish Bone, U-Neek | 4:02 |
9. | 'All Original' | BTNH, U-Neek | 4:58 |
10. | 'Blaze It (Skit)' | Larry Blackmon, BTNH, U-Neek | 2:08 |
11. | 'Let The Law End' | BTNH, U-Neek | 3:36 |
12. | 'Whom Die They Lie' | BTNH, U-Neek | 4:24 |
13. | 'How Many of Us Have Them (Friends)' | BTNH, U-Neek | 5:10 |
14. | 'Evil Paradise' | Tim Stahl, BTNH, U-Neek | 4:48 |
15. | 'Mo' Thug Family Tree (featuring Mo Thugs Family)' | BTNH, U-Neek | 5:37 |
- Sample credits
World War 1
- 'Handle the Vibe' contains a sample of 'Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love)' as performed by Boogie Down Productions
- 'It's All Mo' Thug' contains a sample of 'Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight' as performed by Isaac Hayes
- 'Ready 4 War' contains a sample of 'Love Hangover' as performed by Diana Ross
- 'Ain't Nothin Changed (Everyday Thang Part 2)' contains a sample of 'Have You Ever Loved Somebody' as performed by Freddie Jackson
- 'Hard Times' contains a sample of 'Love.... Can Be So Wonderful' as performed by The Temprees
- 'Mind of a Souljah' contains a sample of 'Promise Me' as performed by Luther Vandross
![Zip Zip](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125875396/746874364.jpg)
World War 2
- 'Hatin' Nation' contains a sample of 'Juicy Fruit' as performed by Mtume
- 'Blaze It' contains a sample of 'Why Have I Lost You' as performed by Cameo
- 'Evil Paradise' contains a sample of 'White Horse' as performed by Laid Back
- 'Thug Luv' contains a sample of 'Friday the 13th Original Theme' by Harry Manfredini
- 'U Ain't Bone' contains a sample of 'Ring the Alarm' as performed by Tenor Saw
- 'Friends' contains a sample of 'Friends' as performed by Whodini
Appearances[edit]
- Krayzie Bone appears on 25 tracks.
- Layzie Bone appears on 22 tracks.
- Bizzy Bone appears on 18 tracks.
- Wish Bone appears on 15 tracks.
- Flesh-n-Bone appears on 6 tracks.
The vinyl release omits the tracks 1, 6 and 12 on WW2.
Charts[edit]
Chart (1997) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | 1 |
Canadian Albums Chart | 10 |
Certifications[edit]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[7] | 4x Platinum | 4,000,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Thomas, Stephen (1997-08-05). 'The Art of War - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony'. Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-12-23.
- ^Considine, J.D. (1997-08-08). 'The Art of War Review'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
- ^ abThe new Rolling Stone album guide - Nathan Brackett, Christian David Hoard - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
- ^'MC Lyte - Where U At verse (Lil' Kim, Layzie Bone & Foxy Brown Diss) (2000)'. YouTube. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. 'The Art of War - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony | Songs, Reviews, Credits'. AllMusic.
- ^Considine, J.D (8 August 1997). 'The Art of War'. EW.com.
- ^'American album certifications – Bone Thugs 'N Harmony – The Art of War'. Recording Industry Association of America.If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Art_of_War_(Bone_Thugs-n-Harmony_album)&oldid=923495826'
Strength & Loyalty | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 8, 2007 (US) | |||
Recorded | 2006-2007 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 47:21 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Bone Thugs-n-Harmony chronology | ||||
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Singles from Strength & Loyalty | ||||
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Strength & Loyalty, originally titled The Bone Thugs Story, is the seventh studio album by American hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, released on May 8, 2007. IT was Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's first major album after an absence of nearly five years. The album contains guest appearances by Akon, Autumn Rowe, Bow Wow, Felecia, Fleetwood Mac (sampled), Mariah Carey, Swizz Beatz, The Game, Twista, will.i.am, and Yolanda Adams. Producers include Akon, DJ Toomp, Jermaine Dupri, Mally Mall, Neo Da Matrix, Pretty Boy & Bradd Young, Street Radio, Swizz Beatz, The Individuals, Ty Fyffe, and will.i.am. The executive producer of the album was Swizz Beatz. Then imprisoned member Flesh-n-Bone was featured on a track entitled 'Into The Future' but did not make the album.
The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, with 119,000 copies sold.[1] It has since gone on to be certified gold by the RIAA, having sold over 500,000 copies within the US to date.[2][3]
The first single was 'I Tried', which features Akon, and was also produced by him. The single was released on February 16, 2007. On March 7, the video officially debuted on Yahoo! Music, and on March 17, it debuted on BET's 106 & Park. The second single was 'Lil Love', which features Bow Wow and Mariah Carey, and was produced by Jermaine Dupri. The single was released in June 2007, while its video was premiered on July 5, on 106 & Park.
- 2Track listing
Critical reception[edit]
Strength & Loyalty received generally positive reviews from music critics, praising the production of the album and Bone's ability to 'reinvent themselves with just 3 members.' David Jeffries of Allmusic gave the album 3 and a half stars out of a possible 5, stating 'This 2007 edition of Bone is missing members Flesh-N-Bone (thanks to incarceration) and Bizzy Bone (thanks to his being Bizzy Bone) and it shows. As a trio Krayzie, Layzie, and distant third Wish are a solid crew, able to deliver good weekend numbers like 'Bump in the Trunk,' 'Lil Love,' and 'C-Town' (they never forget Cleveland) along with polished gangsta tracks like 'I Tried.' In the big picture, Bizzy and Flesh are missed, but what's remarkable about Strength & Loyalty is how it makes the listener forget they're missing while in the moment. Numerous melodious hooks in the easy-rolling Bone tradition fog the memory, and guest stars are brought in at just the right moments. Mariah speaks to the commercial possibilities Bone always had, while the Game speaks to how they seemed to never leave the streets. Every song is at least solid and the album flows very well, making it one of the better-built efforts from the house of Bone in nearly a decade. Problem is, this album could have twice the star power and it wouldn't make up for how important Bizzy's strange voice was for the overall chemistry. Strength & Loyalty doesn't overcome its challenges; it just sidesteps them and works hard to reward fans for a decade of patience. It's as good as it can be, and better than expected.' Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly of gave the album a 'B+', stating 'These Midwestern-rap pioneers sound more focused than they have in a decade. Much of the credit for the revitalized sound on their seventh LP, Strength & Harmony belongs to producers like Swizz Beatz, will.i.am, and Akon, who deftly flip samples from sources as disparate as Bobby Womack and Fleetwood Mac. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s lyrics, too, are impressively crafted, tempering rough bluster with humble spirituality and calling to mind their classic mid-’90s hits — a pleasant surprise after years of diminishing returns.' Decades-long Bone heads need not worry about total change, though. On the Neo Da Matrix–tracked gem “C-Town,” fellow spitfire Twista tag teams with the crew atop an airy bed of whistles and sonic hypnosis. The strongest moment of seamless old meets new comes on the head-spinning “Flowmotion,” a remake of a cut from their 1993 indie project Faces of Death. Backed by newcomers the Individuals’ intense strings, all three members’ flows reach new levels of velocity, especially Krayzie’s: “I’m coming at you with a sound like thunder, strike like lightning/Hit them and they wonder where these thuggish ruggish niggas came from.”
Matt Baron of XXL (magazine) gave the a 'L' (Large) rating, stating 'Don’t call it a complete comeback, however. While Krayzie and Layzie show and prove, Wish’s inferior skills frequently emerge as well. Take his infantile wordplay on the Jermaine Dupri–produced radio shot “Little Love” (“Not trying to say that you’re about that paper/But me and you, yes, we’re about that paper”), which makes guest Bow Wow sound superlyrical. Further downgrading the album are scattered, drowsy soundtrack lapses (DJ Toomp’s bland bass guitars on “Sounds the Same,” for example) and stunted creativity (the “been there, shot that” murder taunts of “9mm”). Through attempts at experimentation, such as the Fleetwood Mac–sampling rock/rap hybrid “Listen to the Wind Blow,” Bone clearly display a hunger for relevance. And as evidenced by the solemn “Crossroads”-comparable single “I Tried,” their knack for genreless harmonies is still intact. Yet, with the final product sounding slightly uneven, some fine-tuning would have done these Bones good.'
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | (74/100) link |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
AllHipHop | link at the Wayback Machine (archived May 12, 2007) |
DJBooth | link |
Entertainment Weekly | (B+) link |
HHNLive | link at the Wayback Machine (archived May 15, 2007) |
HipHopDX | link |
RapReviews | link |
Rolling Stone | link at the Wayback Machine (archived July 15, 2007) |
The Source | |
XXL | (L) link |
Track listing[edit]
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | 'Flowmotion' | The Individualz | 3:09 |
2. | 'Bump in the Trunk' (Feat. Swizz Beatz) | The Individualz | 4:25 |
3. | 'Wind Blow' (Feat. Fleetwood Mac) | Pretty Boy, Bradd Young | 4:18 |
4. | 'I Tried' (Feat. Akon) | Akon | 4:47 |
5. | 'Lil' Love' (Feat. Mariah Carey & Bow Wow) | Jermaine Dupri, LRoc | 3:52 |
6. | 'C-Town' (Feat. Twista) | Neo da Matrix | 5:05 |
7. | 'Order My Steps (Dear Lord)' (Feat. Yolanda Adams) | Pretty Boy, Bradd Young | 3:57 |
8. | 'Streets' (Feat. Game & will.i.am) | will.i.am | 4:21 |
9. | '9mm' | Street Radio | 4:43 |
10. | 'Gun Blast' | Ty Fyffe | 3:37 |
11. | 'Candy Paint' (Feat. Swizz Beatz & Autumn Rowe) | Swizz Beatz | 3:45 |
12. | 'So Good So Right' (Feat. Felecia) | Mally Mall | 3:35 |
13. | 'Sounds the Same' | DJ Toomp | 4:25 |
14. | 'Never Forget Me' (Feat. Akon) | Akon | 4:46 |
Best Buy Bonus Track | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Producer | Length |
15. | 'Just Vibe' | Pretty Boy | 4:24 |
iTunes Bonus Track | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Producer | Length |
16. | 'Bump In The Trunk (Remix)' | Swizz Beatz, The Individualz | 4:12 |
Samples[edit]
# | Title | Samples |
---|---|---|
1. | 'Flowmotion' | 'Sky High' by Jigsaw |
3. | 'Wind Blow' | 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac |
6. | 'C-Town' | 'Trust in Me' by Lenny Williams |
8. | 'Streets' | 'Across 110th Street' by Bobby Womack |
10. | 'Gun Blast' | 'Living a Lie' by Cam'ron |
12. | 'So Good So Right' | 'So Good So Right' by Brenda Russell |
15. | 'Just Vibe' (Best Buy Bonus track) | 'Why Have I Lost You' by Cameo |
Unreleased songs[edit]
- 'Assurance' (produced by Polow da Don)
- 'Bone Thugs Boys' (produced by Danja) (co-produced by Timbaland)
- 'Certified Thugs' (featuring Jazze Pha) (produced by Jazze Pha)
- 'Come with Me' (produced by Swizz Beatz)
- 'For the OG's' (featuring Chamillionaire) (produced by Play-N-Skillz)
- 'Got My Back' (featuring Jodeci) (produced by Play-N-Skillz)
- 'I Ain't Satisfied' (produced by Kanye West)
- 'Into The Future' (featuring Flesh-n-Bone) (produced by The Platinum Brothers co produced by Travis Cherry)
- 'Never Been Industry'
- 'Not Familiar'
- 'One Day at the Time'
- 'Real Niggaz' (produced by Swizz Beatz)
- 'Shotgun' (produced by EVontheboards)
- 'So Crazy' (featuring Kelly Rowland) (produced by Play-N-Skillz)
- 'Struggles' (featuring Petey Pablo) (produced by DJ U-Neek)
- 'Toast 2 That' (featuring Swizz Beatz) (produced by Swizz Beatz)
- 'We Workin' (produced by DJ Paul & Juicy J)
- 'What's Up' (featuring Swizz Beatz) (produced by Swizz Beatz)
- 'When the Thugs Come Out' (produced by Swizz Beatz)
- 'You & Me' (featuring Gwen Stefani)
Certifications[edit]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[4] | Gold | 500,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone |
References[edit]
- ^'Buble Takes Down Bone Thugs In Mother's Day Chart Melee'.
- ^'RIAA - Gold & Platinum - BONE THUGS 'N HARMONY'.
- ^'Upcoming Releases'. HitsDailyDouble. Hits Daily Double. January 12, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
- ^'American album certifications – Bone Thugs 'N Harmony – Strength & Loyalty'. Recording Industry Association of America.If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
External links[edit]
- Strength & Loyalty at Metacritic
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strength_%26_Loyalty&oldid=923496830'