Happily, Chasing the Devil is saved by its final twenty minutes, beginning with “Send Me an Angel” and “What If,” both wholehearted pieces of introspection with fantastic if subdued production (ed. The production is too sparse and while Krayzie’s triple-time flows and textured vocals are impressive, they’re nothing new for him. The album’s first two acts are forgettable save for “Hold On To Ya Soul” and the emphatic “Like Fire,” which itself is indistinguishable from 2006’s “Fire” which appeared on Thug Stories, the first of two Bone albums featuring a three man lineup. I hate to say it, but when he’s not addressing heartfelt ballads to marijuana or rapping about killing people, he comes off as severely depleted. Unfortunately, where the mature, reflective Kray should be compelling, he’s rather boring. Krayzie can be vulnerable without begging for commiseration, unlike the tragically scarred Bizzy Bone. One of the most interesting things about Krayzie was always that even when he rapped about home invasions and drive-by shootings there was a sense that he just might be a good guy beneath it all - unlike, say, Flesh-N-Bone, who regularly pulls assault rifles on his neighbors. (Fun fact! Did you know Krayzie Bone is the only rapper to appear on record with Biggie, Pac, Eazy, and Pun?)Ĭhasing the Devil is a weird assembly of songs about moralism and resisting temptation. Krayzie’s best solo album is probably 2001’s Thug on da Line, but by far my favorite is Thug Mentality 1999, a wondrously bloated double LP featuring everyone from Snoop Dogg to Mariah Carey to Big Pun. To say nothing of the Brothers Howse, Layzie Bone and Flesh-N-Bone, who are perfectly competent but not as compelling.
He carries a solo album far better than Bizzy Bone, who’s given to red-eyed pulpit ramblings.
If not the most purely talented Thug, he’s easily the most versatile, a capable singer and the most technically astute rapper and lyricist of the quintet. It’s spiritual without being preachy.Ĭhasing the Devil is the first Krayzie Bone album in over a decade, but he’s sated hungry fans with a few years worth of Z-Ro impersonations on the Fixtape series. It’s the same end-of-the-world nonsense he’s been reheating for two decades, but it’s introspective, inspirational, and musical. Fans get out what they put in, and the soap opera is part of the appeal.Ī case in point is “Hold On To Ya Soul,” a six-and-a-half minute epic reminiscent of Bone’s turn-of-the-century dramatic peak and the opening track on Krayzie Bone’s new solo offering Chasing the Devil. In the rare event that they’re firing on all cylinders, there’s nothing like the Ouija-playing, THC-addicted, apocalypse-heralding Wasteland Warriors from Cleveland. Why do we keep coming back when history suggests we’ll be disappointed? The answer is complex and beyond the scope of this review, but I suspect it’s similar to the one that would be given by fans of Kiss, Phish, and Wu-Tang.
There’s Wish Bone, the hapless, rhythmically illiterate fifth wheel, who just seems happy to be there. There are concerts where ticket holders can never be sure which of the Thugs will show up. Online message boards crop in which thousands of users assess mixtapes by barely affiliated acts and speculate as to who Layzie Bone was dissing on some forgotten non-album track. So much recorded material falls into the hands of tiny labels and rogue engineers that even the group members themselves can hardly distinguish official releases from illegitimate ones. There are countless solo albums and side projects comprised of endlessly recycled hooks and verses. It’s to accept and excuse prolonged mediocrity.
ALBUM OR COVER KRAYZIE BONE THUG ON DA LINE HOW TO
Pete Tosiello taught Trey Anastasio how to play guitar.īeing a Bone Thugs fan is like rooting for a sports franchise gone to seed under squabbling second generation ownership.