The Black Bar Mitzvah, or: The Death of Rick Ross

First things first: I don’t give a flying jack about Rozay having been a C.O. in the past. Everybody get on their grind while they have to. No matter what that might be. As long as you’re not snitching on your people, it’s cool with me.
Also – I love Ross for what he’s done so far. He’s put out some QUALITY music over the past years. But, let’s keep it 100: he’s gotten lazy. The bigger his status got, the lazier he’s gotten. God forgives, I don’t was…mjeeeeh…aight… But what’s up with this The Black Bar Mitzvah-thing?!
Let’s put all the ridiculous-artwork and title-stuff aside. Let’s focus STRAIGHT on the music. Let’s call it how we see it: it’s lame. Word is bond.

I’ve seldomly heard a project as monotone and uninteresting as The Black Bar Mitzvah. Almost EVERY song sounds the same, with heavy (808) basslines, sped-up hi hats and a gruntling Rick Ross, assisted by occasional guest appearances.
Tales of coke snorting, drug trafficking, hoe banging and bottle popping – the MMG-magic formula – repeated during 18 tracks of musical monotony and lyrical, artistical, pseudo-made man-jibberish!

That was the first spin. I really wanted to like this mixtape, so I gave it a second try. Nope. Still the same. While young cats like Kendrick Lamar or A$AP Rocky push the envelope and try to advance into new spheres of an old fashioned aesthetic, Ross seems too settled in his ways.

It feels like the hustler persona he’s established over the years, got chubby and moved to Miami (no pun intended).
Where there was pure game and hustle-antics in the past, you now have blueprint-ish, predictable, exchangeable verses of identical subject matter, with almost no „swag“ at all.

When Tony Montana went off with a tremendous ending, being shot for being too greedy and paranoid, the rap-version of Freeway Ricky Ross seems to die in cold silence, due to the fact of being too self-righteous and modest with his original hustle…

R.I.P. – Rick Ross, a hustler we used to love.

Throwback Thursday: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – Creepin On Ah Come Up

When Biggie’s Ready To Die was the best debut-album in rap-history, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Creepin‘ On Ah Come Up easily is the best debut EP to ever have been released by a rap crew, period! Yeah, there was Faces Of Death, but it wasn’t until this extended play, dropping on Eazy-E‘s Ruthless Records in 1994, that the world was introduced to the unique and contagious style of the four (originally five, but Flesh-N-Bone’s run-ins with the law made this a quartet most of the time) Clevelandians, which was somewhat of a mixture of gospel-singing, ragga-toasting and hardcore Midwest-Tongue-Twistin‘ Rap.

The dispute over who invented the style and a legendary beef between those Thugs and Psychodrama/Twista/Speedknot Mobstaz/Do Or Die from Chicago and Three 6 Mafia/etc from Memphis will never be forgotten. But more than that, the seminal, genre-changing sound of those 8 tracks will always be remembered!

Two interludes perceed the first song, creating a diabolic, voodoo-istic and extremely mystic vibe, that leads into the legendary quote of Baptist pastor Calvin O. Butts. And when he claims „We’re not against rap. We’re not against rappers…but we ARE against those THUGS„, all Hell breaks loose. Thuggish Ruggish Bone is that classic Mid-90’s G-Funk, with whiny synthesizers, deep bass grooves and a hook sung by Shatasha Williams, that will forever stick to one’s memory.

The song introduces Bone the best way possible: kickin‘ rhymes about inner city life, drugs, violence, ghetto youth without perspective and the typical „I have no opportunities, so I’ma use them„-attitude (a.k.a. I don’t give a fuck).

And that’s only the beginning of all this mayhem. No Surrender might be the most ruthless (ha – get the hint?!) „Fuck The Police“-songs, past N.W.A. Electro pianos, creepy synths, strings and the unforgettable „…’cause I’m killin‘ all you bitches, turn them blue suits red„-line by Wish Bone. Put it in your car-stereo and find yourself parolin‘ for the 5-0…for no reason, just feelin‘ what the Bone Thugs are choppin‘ up!

The title track is especially interesting. Somebody remember The New Power Generation’s „Hallucination Rain„? Those two make a PERFECT two piece. Bump ‚em back-to-back – it will take you into a psychotic daze. Distorted synths, creepy sounds and eery lyrics all over the place…

But there’s even more to it. Forget about the excellent „Foe Tha Love of $“ sportin‘ one of Eazy-E‘s most remarkable feature-parts, forget about all the skulls and Ouija-aesthetics, forget all the single elements and focus on the picture as a whole. Focus on what Bone Thugs-N-Harmony did to the rap-game with only 5 proper tracks. They changed the face of rap forever. Just like Dr. Dre did when he introduced the whole world to G-Funk in 1992. Rapping never was the same. Kickin‘ flows, incorporating singing into rap-technique and experimenting with all kind of different styles became normal.

If it wouldn’t have been for Wish Bone, Lazy Bone, Krayzie Bone, Flesh-N-Bone and Bizzy Bone, it might’ve never come that far. Even today’s Top MCs like A$AP Rocky, SpaceGhostPurrp and Kendrick Lamar drop raps, heavily influenced by the style, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony made famous.

Legendary. Period.