Posted By Ben W. on October 5, 2009

Well, it’s Hip Hop Week here at almostfourstars. There’s no significance to Oct. 5-10 as it relates to the history of rap. At least as far as I know. There’s really no rhyme or reason to this decision at all. It’s just the kind of thing you can declare when you have a music blog. So here I am declaring it.

It’s Hip Hop Week!

I spent good bit of time Sunday night putting together the AFS review of Kid Cudi’s new album. And Cudi, as you be aware, is from the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights. Rap? Cleveland? The next logical thought is Bone Thugs N Harmony. Come on. Don’t act like you don’t know.

They were the best of the short-lived Midwest rap craze of the mid 1990s (Crucial Conflict? Do Or Die? Anyone? Eh, didn’t think so.) And you know what? Bone’s sound was fairly innovative and influential. They sang fairly well, had a solid sense of melody and harmony. And the flow? Woo. Bizzy especially could really rip it, spitting syllables with superhuman quickness.

“Crossroads” made them a fortune, and ruined their career at the same time. After that, they kept trying to cash in again on the conscious message radio hit, with some truly awful results. I preferred the gangsta rap sound they debuted with, back when Easy-E signed them to his Ruthless Records label. I don’t know what “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” means exactly, but it still sounds good 15 years later.

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Categories: 12:12 Tune Of The Day
Tags: Bone Thugs N Harmony