Search - Krayzie Bone :: Gemini: Good Vs Evil (Bonus Dvd)

Krayzie Bone- Gemini: Good Vs Evil

Constant | Vancouver, BC Canada | 02/09/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Krayzie Bone's (Anthony Henderson) third album is "Gemini: Good Vs Evil" (2005). People who are reading my review should know I have never been a fan of BTH, but decided to checkout this album anyways. I find Krayzie Bone's flow easier to listen to then other Bone members, and like it best when he slows it down and talks about relevant issues.



The "Good":



"All I Am Hearing"- Feeling Krayzies lyrics and smooth chorus, can relate to him talking about the Rap game being flooded with unoriginal music.



"Let's Live"- Krayzie reflects on life and death, providing some positive messages and promoting life, dropping lines like "N***** be killing me saying they ready to die, you ready to die, I'm ready to live grow up with my kids".



"Lock Down Love"- My current favourite, Krayzie dedicates this to the incarcerated talking to the young men and women who are growing up in the prison systems.



"Nuthin But Music" & "I Remember" are okay tracks where Krayzie reflects on music/group history and would probably have more appeal to people who have followed BTN over the years.



________________________________________________________________





The "Evil":



"Getchu Twisted"- Fastpaced Lil Jon produced track, and album opener. Its decent but familiar to a lot of tracks I have heard over the years.



"Don't Know Why"- Feeling this track, its different, Krayzie rhymes well, backed by a stellar beat.



Other "Evil" cuts were average/weak lyrically to me, decent beats but an all to familiar formula. Interludes and Interviews fall into filler material.



Opinion:



I was impressed by some of the music on "Gemini: Good Vs Evil". Personally thought that Krayzie Bone shined more on the reflective laid back "Good" tracks. The other side was less of a draw for me as I personally don't find Krayzie very convincing when dropping thugged out tracks. One thing I have noticed about BTN fans is they are generally a very loyal group; I recommend this album to them. 3.5.

















"

Mr. Sawed Off Leatherface Has Done It Again.......

Amparo Acosta | Miami, Florida United States | 01/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Bone Thugs phenomenon may change over time, but it never really fades out or dies off. One could hardly have guessed a over a decade ago when the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony debuted to the hip-hop world on "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" that they would become household names, icons of the music business, and spawn off as many solo and side projects as the Wu-Tang Clan themselves. And like the Wu-Tang Clan, the Bone Thugs have shown that with solo success, it becomes increasingly harder to reunite all the group's members for albums together. I'm not really sure how many times Bone seemed set to be on their own permanently but came back as a unit "just one more time" and frankly I've stopped trying to keep track. As good as they are together, group members like L-Burna (Layzie Bone) and Bizzy Bone have proved they can hang on their own with albums like "Thug By Nature" and "Alpha and Omega."



Of course Krayzie Bone is no exception to the solo success of Bone Thugs members, and may be the most successful of them all. He's made a name for himself with releases like the double album "Thug Mentality 1999" and 2001's "Thug On Da Line," but it's been four long years since Krayzie put out a new solo release. Although he's put out singles and soundtrack cuts and appeared on other records in the interim, he hasn't had that spotlight all to himself for quite a while. Last time out Krayzie jumped ship from Relativity Records to Loud Records, and since Loud is relatively defunct as a hip-hop label (no pun intended) it's no surprise that Krayzie has again found a new home, Ball'r Records. After getting hints of his new album bubbling up through the underground for the last three months, Ball'r has finally given "Gemini - Good vs. Evil" a national release.



The title and the coverart accurately reflect the unique dual nature of Krayzie Bone as an artist. He has a spiritual side from which he exhorts people have "got to pray, got to pray, every day, every day" on songs like "Let's Live," but growing up rugged in the streets of Cleveland gave him the skills to "Get'chu Twisted" if you make the mistake of crossing his path



In astrological terms, Gemini (May 22nd to June 21st) is considered to be the birth sign of those who are charming and quick witted, but have an equally dark and dangerous side. "We'll bomb yo'S***, before you even realize we the N***** got a problem with" is the negative side of Krayzie on "Mangled," while "I know sometimes that we may praise this life, but I'm here to tell you that we all paid the price" on "Lock Down Love" is Krayzie letting the light shine in. Krayzie is uniquely positioned to succeed as a soloist because of this dichotomy, because his material stays refreshing and never gets overly thuggish or too preachy. Among all the Bone members, Krayzie may also have the clearest and easiest diction to understand lyrically, and a pleasant mid-range octave to his rapping/sing-song style. It would be fair to say that without the success of artists like Krayzie Bone paving the way, a smooth voiced hip-hop rapper with a musical flow style like Nelly would never have found the road to success nationally.



Of course "Gemini - Good vs. Evil" wouldn't work without a set of good beats, and this album definitely succeeds on that score. There are a lot of hands stirring the pot here - everybody from Lil Jon on "Get'chu Twisted" to LT Hutton on "I Remember," but it's remarkable how each different beat seems tailor made to fit the style and message of the song Krazyie is performing. "Gemini - Good vs. Evil" will please a lot of people, whether they are fans of the Bone Thugs, or of Krayzie Bone as a soloist. If you haven't checked out any of the other solo records, this wouldn't be a bad place to start. And just in case you thought Bone Thugs was done as a group again, the "Get'chu Twisted" remix at the end features Wish, Lazy and Bizzy all on the cut, so don't get it twisted. The Bone Thugs legacy is far from over, this is just another chapter in their book of thugs.







"

Heat Best Bone

Shock Tha Villan | JERZEY | 02/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is hot

It made up my mind between the best bone thug bizzy or krayzie

tracks

1.) Get you twisted- 5/5 (a banger sick beat by lil jon gets you movin and he rips it fastest i ever heard krayzie rap)

2.) Thats That Bone- 4.5/5

3.) Put it on yall- 3.5

4.) Interview (explains the album)

5.) Nuthin but music 4/5

6.All Im hearing- 4.5/5

7.) Lets Live- 4/5

8.) Chaos Interlude- 5/5 t(his lil interlude has classic bone flow and the beat is crazy)

9.) Dont know why- 5/5 (my favorite track beat is tight in a dark way he tells a crazy ass story in this one how he killed some1 in his sleep and doesnt know what happened hook is tight)

10.) Mangled- 3/5

11.) Lock Down Love - 3.5/5

12. Interlude

13. I remember- 5/5 (has a verse for every bone thug)

14.) Hi Di Ho- 2/5 ( just dont like it no hook short as hell talks about nothing)

15.) Murda Music 2.5/5 (makes up for the last song its like one long hook)

16.) Got chu twisted - 4/5 ( took out the hottest parts of the chorus and krayzies hottest verse, makes up for it with bizzy lazy and wish)"