What makes a n**** think he can bite my shit and call his shit original?
What’s worse, tellin’ people you made the style we put down three fuckin’ years ago
And that’s just like a n**** wanna take all the credit, I bet it
Didn’t even occur that we would eventually meet with ya, kid
Don’t crash, collide, lock up with the enemy
And I don’t wanna say a n****’s name and all that
But uh, y’all finna get stomped, let ’em loose
And they heard the news, ya run up, ya could get dead, oh….
Fuck ’em all if I can’t get my respect
Come on now, put them to rest rest
What a bloody, bloody mess, but nevertheless, we won’t stress
I figured this platinum got you actin’ like you got to be me
It’s all in your mind, but in time you’ll find we as real as we speak
(Krayzie Bone; “Look Into My Eyes”)
Today is the landmark 20th anniversary of The Art Of War, the incredible second full-length major label effort from Cleveland, OH-bred tongue-twisting talents Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, which hit #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and was certified quadruple platinum. This epic double-disc release served as the long-awaited follow-up to Bone’s previous album, 1995’s universally lauded E.1999 Eternal, which also went quadruple platinum in addition to topping the Billboard 200; that joint celebrated an anniversary of its own earlier this week. I am pleased to say that Bone and underrated producer DJ U-Neek truly outdid themselves on this one; E. 1999 is about as perfect and original as an album can get, and yet this joint manages to not only meet its expectations as a follow-up, but exceed them to a degree as well. To this day, I still can’t completely decide which album I like more.
Bone’s four core members (Bizzy, Krayzie, Layzie and Wish) keep their unique style of rapping and singing/chanting intact, effectively catering to both the hard and smooth sides of the coin with U-Neek supporting them every step of the way with his trademark dark, sinister and multilayered soundscapes (which, generally speaking, rely impressively little on sampling). Also impressive about The Art Of War is its remarkable consistency and virtual absence of filler, which is rarely seen with double-disc albums. Included on here are the popular singles “Look Into My Eyes” (which also appears on the soundtrack to Joel Schumacher’s embarrassingly bad 1997 superhero sequel Batman & Robin), “If I Could Teach The World” and “Thug Luv” (a collaboration with the late, great Tupac Shakur; Bone had previously recorded “Notorious Thugs” with Pac’s late friend-turned-rival, The Notorious B.I.G., shortly before the latter’s death the same year).
The bulk of the remaining guest features on The Art Of War can be found on the buttery and heartfelt album closer “Mo’ Thug Family Tree”, which contains a wealth of rapping and singing vocals from various members of the extended Mo Thugs Family (including II Tru, Ken Dawg, Souljah Boy (not to be confused with Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em), the Graveyard Shift and Tré); the original version of the song, “Family Tree”, features only Bone over the same lush and soulful beat and appears at the end of the first disc. In addition, each of the four core Bone members gets his time to shine on a hot solo track; though Bizzy’s joint (“7 Sign”) contains a guest verse from affiliate Maje$ty. Thankfully, part-time fifth group member (and Layzie’s older brother) Flesh-N-Bone also makes his presence known on a handful of cuts; most notably on the opening verse of “It’s All Mo’ Thug” and on the second verse of “All Original”, respectively.
Choosing my other favorite songs from this 28-track album is no easy task, but I am especially fond of bangers “Handle The Vibe” (which borrows a sample from the Boogie Down Productions classic “Love’s Gonna Get’cha (Material Love)” as its foundation, “Body Rott” (which was released as the B-side of “If I Could Teach The World”), “Ready 4 War” (which contains disses aimed at Chicago tongue-twisting rivals Crucial Conflict, courtesy of Maje$ty), “Clog Up Yo Mind”, “U Ain’t Bone” (which contains additional subliminal disses aimed at Crucial Conflict as well as other tongue-twisters Bone has had beef with and accused of biting their style, including other Chicago-based acts Do Or Die and Twista as well as Memphis’ own Three 6 Mafia) and the always relevant anti-police number “Let The Law End” (featuring another fine Flesh performance); Bone’s beef with other artists is additionally referenced on “Look Into My Eyes” (see above). I also rather enjoy the softer numbers like “Hatin’ Nation”, the aforementioned “It’s All Mo’ Thug” and the customary weed interlude “Blaze It” (in which U-Neek flips a sample of the Cameo slow jam “Why Have I Lost You” to perfection).
Growing up with semi-strict parents that wouldn’t allow me to buy albums that carried the iconic Parental Advisory label, I am ashamed to admit that it would be a couple years after the fact that I would finally be able to secretly buy my own copy of this joint and digest it in full, having previously concealed a cassette tape of E. 1999 Eternal that endured heavy rotation in my stereo (with headphones, of course!) for a couple years straight. Understandably, the latter will always be a classic in my book; with that said, I’ve come to love The Art Of War just as much and I firmly believe that it deserves the same amount of recognition and possibly even more.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iuFjnW9-fs?ecver=1]