Bone Thugs 'N' Harmony: B-

Bone Thugs are surprisingly fresh in a sea of posers and money-hungry thugs. They rap about the same cliched, deeply poetic subject matter of commercial rap (Bitches and hos, 40s, gold chains, getting shot and living, rims, cribs, the streets, thug life, hustlin', etc.) but do it well. Bone Thugs 'N' Harmony are three charming young men who have been rapping in the "game" since '94. With member Flesh-N-Bone in jail, the group has dwindled down to a trio. Strength and Loyalty is their newest effort and first on Interscope imprint Full Surface.\nWhat the Thugs have that most popular rap groups and artists don't have is speed and distinctive voices. From the first track, "Flow Motion," the boys tear through fools with machine-gun rhymes. While they do dabble in the cliché subject matter of gangster rap (titles like "Gun Blast" and "9MM" prove this), they still try to be diverse and sing about their own thing. "Sound the Same" is about how everyone in the rap game is unoriginal and all sound like each other, and the beats are real chill. \nThe beats are rather solid as well. "Wind Blow" samples Fleetwood Mac, dirty piano loops haunt on "Gun Blast" (authentic Uzi and nine blasts included), and the ever popular beats 'n' bells are on "Never Forget Me." Swizz Beats takes the reins on "Bump in the Trunk" (what a terrible song title), in the most involved song on the album.\nGuest appearances can be good, but the Thugs pick the worst people to appear. Mariah Carey and Little Bow Wow (now just Bow Wow) on one song?! What a hideous combination. Twista, the Game and Yolanda Adams don't do anything for this album either. Bone Thugs are best when they take the triple threat approach.\nForget 50 Cent, Three Six, Eminem, Paul Wall and all that other shite. Bone Thugs are true to their style and even though I'm not a big gangster rap fan (I prefer Ace Rock and Busdriver style hip-hop), I can appreciate their work.