Title: E.1999 Eternal
Artiste: Bone Thugz n Harmony
Genre: Hip-hop
Familiarity: Think I heard one single track
Recommended by: The Batlord
Expectations: Like I say, I think I heard one song and I don't recall completely hating it. Batty said this was purely a shot in the dark, so he has no idea whether I'll dig it or hate the bones (sorry) off it, and neither do I. My track record with hip-hop is, shall we say, weak.
1. Da introduction: Heavy kind of feel to this, dark vocal on the rap, slow and sludgy. A lot of effects. Now we have piano coming in and singing, which is nice and something of a surprise. Not that I know anything about hip-hop, but I just kind of assumed there was little if any actual singing and that it was all about the rap. I guess not, not here anyway. Not bad this to be fair.
2. East 1999: Slightly faster. It might seem odd, given that rap centres around the lyrics, but I seldom listen to them. For one thing, they're usually sung too fast and even if I had lyric sheets, they're often using terms that mean little or nothing to me. So I tend to judge them based on the music, which so far here is okay.
3. Eternal: Music is still good, rhythm is good. Even though I really can't make out the lyric as such, I can hear how the cadences work into the music, and that's talent.
4. Crept and we came: From my point of view, just listening to the rap as if it were in Swedish or Pakistani or something --- a jumbled string of words I can't follow --- helps me appreciate this a little better. Sort of like when Jansz advised me to treat death growls as just another instrument. I'm quite enjoying this now on my own little select level.
5. Down 71 (The Getaway): This has a real dark opening and it gets better as it goes on. I like the black (sorry) humour.
6. Mr Bill Collector: Ah! This is the one track I did hear. And I liked it then. And I still like it now.
7. Budsmokers only: This one is pretty good too. Very fast vocal delivery but it's not without its charm.
8. Crossroad: Are there rap ballads? Or hip-hop ballads? I assume so, and if so, this is one. And it's really good. Taking the melody from something but I can't recall from where.
9. Me killa: For less than a minute this is great. Hip-hop barbershop?
10. Land of tha heartless: I suppose you'd need to really scrutinise the lyrics, but I'm surprised by how little aggression there seems to be in this music. Like, it's not shouting, dropping the f-bomb (too much) or squealing keyboards or hard percussion. Quite enjoyable really.
11. No shorts, no losses: This one has an almost Casio-like naiviete in the music.
12. 1st of tha month: Oh this has a very soul/motown feel. Kind of reminds me of Smoky Robinson or something. Very nice.
13. Buddah lovas: Another ballad, very soul, very nice.
14. Die die die: Ok this came at me a bit harshly and seems the volume on the music is much higher. Not entirely crazy about this but I'll Orange it.
15. Mr. Ouija 2: And this is mostly the sound of a gun being cocked over some singing. It's a bit weird.
16. Mo' Murda: Starts off darkly but picks up into quite a lighthearted melody. Not bad at all now.
17. Shots to tha double Glock: Yeah, I like this one too. Piano is great and the rap is enjoyable. The keys are sweet.
End result: All in all a very pleasant listening experience. If I were to analyse the lyrics, would I feel the same? Don't know, but I pretty much enjoyed the music, the samples, the singing, the overall feel and ambience and the mood of the album. I'd possibly listen to more of this.
So, Love or Hate? Has to be a
Love.
all together now....
