Finally bringing the much-anticipated reunion of
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony brothers
Layzie and
Bizzy to the stereo,
The Bone Brothers is a frustrating album if there ever was one. Skip ahead halfway through this jumble of styles if you want the good news, because the first half of the album is tangled in uninspired venom and commercial thug throwaways. "Like Me" apes
Eminem so hard it hurts, "What's Friends" rips off
Whodini's "Friends" without adding anything new to it, and the misguided "Dick Rider" tries to marry
Bone thugging with
Jay-Z's sparkle. Luckily,
Layzie's and
Bizzy's raps are more hit than miss during these moments, but in regard to production, everything feels forced and choruses that want to be street anthems end up sounding weak and contrived. Once you hit "Give It to Me," a whole new world opens up, and that lazily rolling
Bone style is back. It's less ambitious, but the effervescent, feel-good "Hip Hop Baby" is up there with "Crossroads." "Str8 Ridaz" and "Complicated" are worthy additions to your next mixtape of the extended
Bone family, and one on-point track after another balances the fake urgency that sours the album's first half. All this said, hearing so much
Bone family interaction after loads of solo albums is a nostalgic thrill for anyone who used to spend countless hours listening to Cleveland's finest. That's just enough to recommend this up-and-down album to veteran fans, but the casual
Bone listener can pass. ~ David Jeffries