On 4 May Bone Thugs N Harmony dropped their ninth studio album titled Uni5: The World's Enemy. I've always loved Bone Thugs - E 1999 Eternal is easily one of my favorite hip-hop albums and, arguably, Bone Thugs have not been able to rematch that kind of caliber and chemistry on tracks since that 1995 release.
The album comes over half a year after the release of the first single "See Me Shine," which I posted and often praised over the past seven-odd months. Between now and then a few other singles and leaks hit the net - some around equal quality, some not so much. "Rebirth" became the second single, which I feel obliged to praise as a solid first quarter release in 2010 hip-hop. More recently "Gone" and "Meet Me In The Sky" were released officially as singles. These two tracks, and I guess "Rebirth" are a clear step away from any old Bone Thugs ruggish thuggish horror-core rap to a more mainstream synth-pop inspired sound. Those that have followed Bone Thugs since the early nineties will most likely understand the progression and shift in style of the group, however, those banking on a classic Bone Thugs record will most likely be disappointed.
DJ Uneek handles a handful of the albums production, although not exclusively. Uneek has produced some of Bone Thugs most notorious and successful tracks, so this was obviously a nice treat to Bone Thug fans. A number of the beats, as mentioned earlier, are much different than usual for the group, however, their flow and lyricism is nothing new, maybe a little catchier than before, but now that's expected. Their style is what made them hot, why change that, right? Perhaps, you can argue, this album is more personal, in the sense that it is not as street oriented but more focused on addressing personal problems, getting rid of those devils inside, fame, recognition and what-have-you. I'm not saying this is bad. I mean, these guys have been around for over seventeen years. They don't need to bring horror-core Midwest hip-hop back. They've endeared hardship, struggle and came up in the game hard as hell, seeing jail time and putting out some of the most influential tracks in rap.
In the end, this is a good album. Nothing crazy, groundbreaking, overly influential, and I feel like Bone Thugs knew this. They put out an album filled with above par tracks, to say the least. It's no E 1999 Eternal or Creepin on ah Come Up, but it is enough to give Bone Thugs fans something fresh and new to listen to. All five members of Bone Thugs N Harmony on the same album, spittin' fast.
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