Customer Reviews

It's Not a Game

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been listening to Bone since day one, well before crossroads. So let me make it clear about my should be bias opinion because I am a die hard Bone fan.

This album, lacks. Lay has too many guests on this album. Too much "I am a thug" advertising which, plauged his first solo but Lay did it with success. Not this time around. I find myself sifting through tracks where he only has one verse or two. The older songs are great, however Lay should have done more to promote his-self and show off his rap/vocal talent a lil more.

One major disappointment for me is the lack of song types like "listen" and "As the rain" Lay shold have dropped more songs like this. This album, to me is a step back and its a shame because it hide a lot of his talent.

The first problem that I have with this record, and really the only major problem is that it is NOT ORIGINAL! Almost half the songs had been previously released. Why would you spend money on a CD when only have the songs are new, and really only one is worth listening to over and over (thug nation)? Tracks 2, 3, 9, 17 and 19 are all previously released (originally, track 4 had also been do your thang with Kray and Felecia, but later copies were switched to a new song).
Second, if you're looking for layzie, this cd is not a good place. 15 of the songs are featuring some rapper or another, while the intro and outro and skit are not real songs, leaving two songs with just layzie.
Sorry layzie, but when a rapper is struggling to keep fans or get back into the mainstream, this [...] is not the right way. I will have to think twice before buying any more bone thugs stuff (except Bizzy!).

God Bless

This is a pretty good album i like almost all the songs but a few r weak and should have never made the album anyways this is a great album and should be in your collection. Favorite songs r thug nation,stayin alive,midwest invasion and its on. Get this album it is a good listen u should support this kinda of rap and not that pop rap that is out now. What r u waiting for hurry up and buy this now!

Anything from Layzie Bone (or ANY Bone for that matter! Except Wish, imo! lol) is GOLD!

His debut "Thug by nature" is one of the best Rap albums ever to hit the street. But "It`s not a game" mostly consists of the songs of the first album and some unreleased tracks which are pretty weak except "It's on". I don`t understand why he didn`t come out with a new album or called it "Thug by nature -special edition". When you already got his debut you definetely don`t need this one.

to be real its not a cd worth buying out the store. the beats are to watered down for a real thug. "real talk from a real listener of hardcore rap."

Two things really bother me about Layzie Bone's It's Not A Game. First of all there's far too many guest rappers/singers. Twista and Krayzie Bone are excusable because they're actually good rappers, but for the most part, the rest are forgettable. That reason leads me to my second reason for not loving this CD. Because there's so many guests it feels like Layzie gets left out of the picture more than a few times. The basic fact is, Layzie can leave the rappers featured in the dust(minus the aforementioned Twista and Krayzie).

If you look past those two problems, this is a solid CD. As is the case with all the members of Bone Thugs, Layzie is an outstanding rapper with a flow that is both brutal at times and sensitive others. For the most part, each song has an admirable quality to it. From the ominous Intro: It's Not A Game to the classic Bone feel of Thug Nation. There are some flops though, Do Your Thang isn't the best track you'll ever hear which ends up feeling like a Nelly rip-off, and Stayin' Alive just doesn't do anything for me.

One definite plus this CD has going for it is that the skits are minimal. Plus Layzie does teach you how to spell a word. What word? T-H-U-G. So this CD isn't only enjoyable, it's also educational.

My favorite songs are Midwest Invasion, Thug Nation, Connectin' The Plots, Way Too Many, and It's On. For the Bone Thug fan, you should find more than a few reasons to like this CD. For the rap fan, you'll probably like it more than the Bone Thug fan. There aren't a lot of the ballad-style songs, it's mainly the harder songs (that's good). I'm not a big rap fan so I had to listen to this more than a few times to begin to like it, but in the end it really is worth the price of admission.

This is great i am happy bone thug members r bringing new material. Even though this has some old songs on here it is still good and i recommend this to any true bone thug fan and whose been with them till the beginning. Every song I can listen to from beginning till the end. But my favorite songs r thug nation,midwest invasion and run game but the rest of the songs r good too. I am happy bone thug members r still putting out albums and cant wait for the new bone thugs n harmony cd dropping soon. But buy this cd u will not be disappointed and if u r then u aint a bone thug u probably listen to commercial rap like the wanksta 50 cent. Buy please support good rap music.

His first solo in over 4 years and he & bizzy had an album come out 3 months ago (this one is slightly worse then both of them 2 but still barely getting a 4 star rating). Packed with 18 songs (2 he isn't on & 2 are on his "Thug by Nature" album as well) you get 14 new Layzie Bone tracks. Guests are on every song but 3, which brings the quality down some, most are from the Mo Thugs Family & Krayzie Bone is on 2. Production is great on some tracks and ok on others. Thin C does 5, Danzo & Mauly T each do 3, Dre Ghost does 2, and Platinum Brothers, Stew, Presidents, Darren Vegas, and Dirty Red all do 1. It has no songs I skip, but about 8 are just ok, the other 10 are good, but not great. A good album to have for fans of Bone or Lil' Lay.

#1 - 8.5 (has a 1+ minute intro)
#2 - 8 (f/ Aaron Hall -- also on his "thug by Nature" album)
#3 - 8.5 (f/ twista)
#4 - 7 (f/ felicia & krayzie bone)
#5 - 7.5 (f/ krayzie bone)
#6 - 8 (thick & thin c -- no Layzie Bone)
#7 - 8 (f/ thin c)
#8 - 7
#9 - 8.5 (f/ WC -- also on "Thug By Nature")
#11 - 8 (f/ Stew deez & Edi AMin & Young Noble of the Outlawz)
#12 - 7.5 (f/ Thin C & Dre Ghost)
#13 - 8 (f/ Thin C & Dre Ghost)
#14 - 7 ((f/ Thin C & Dre Ghost)
#15 - 7.5
#16 - 8.5 (f/ Mo Thugs Family)
#17 - 9 (f/ Snoop Dogg. Ken Dawg, Jow Little --- my favorite on here)
#18 - 8 (f/ dogzilla & stew deez)
#19 - (no Layzie Bone --- Felicia, Stew Deez, Ken Dawg, Thin C, Skano, Skant Bone)

Steven Howse -- b. 9/23/around 1976 -- Cleveland, OH
check all my reviews

This, the sophomore release by Layzie Bone (aka L-Burna), which was highly anticipated by us BTNH fans is at times amazing and at times a disappointment. In reality if anything, I would call this either a revision of Thug By Nature or a continuation of his first album only because a handful of the tracks on this album are old and already were released, some of them on the first album. But this album highlights Layzie Bones improvement over his first album and with the tracks from Thug By Nature here, it's easy to compare.

But onto the track breakdown:

1. Intro - Not bad, but more often then not you'll be skipping this one only because it is an intro. The song itself is not bad
3.5 out of 5

2. There They Go (with Aaron Hall) - The beat and lyrics on this track are both strong. The chorus isn't too bad either. However this was a song already released on Thug By Nature so beware.
4 out of 5

3. Midwest Invasion (with Twista) - Again a strong showing by Layzie Bone and Twista on this track isn't bad either, though I thought it would have benefited from a little more speed from Twista just because the beat lends itself to a speedy verse. This is another song that was too released a while ago.
4 out of 5

4. Do Your Thang (with Felecia & Krayzie Bone) - Bringing a relaxing beat and some nice verses by both Krayzie and Layzie this is one of the best songs on the album. Just because it was released before shouldn't subtract from the experience unless of course you've already beaten this track to death on your stereo.
5 out of 5

5. Thug Nation (with Krayzie Bone) - If one were to judge a song by its first ten seconds, then this song wouldn't even get a 1 out of 5. Thankfully however, the build up of the beat doesn't last long. Once into the song, it is one of the best tracks on the album. This track is almost a throwback to the Art of War/ E. 1999 days with some hard lyrics and less singing. It's a polar opposite to the last song and offers a great experience.
5 out of 5

6. I Don't Remember (with Thick & Thin C) - Something about this track doesn't set right with me. Perhaps it's the opening of the track that's just bland with generic rhymes that makes we want to skip it. Once into it though, it's not too bad. It's not going to invite multiple playbacks but once in a while it isn't too bad.
2.5 out of 5

7. Stayin' Alive (with Thin C) - This song is ok, mediocre in my opinion, but that's only because I'm not a big fan of the beat. A lot of people I know find this beat pretty good though so don't let it get to you. The lyrics on this track aren't too bad either, a lot of hustle talk, and by no means is it the most original bone track I've ever heard. This song is just mediocre
3 out of 5

8. Nothin' - This is a good song and seems to fit the mood of the album. Both the beat and the lyrics are nice in the fact that they compliment each other. Even the chorus is done subtly enough to not distract from the song.
4.5 out of 5
9. Connectin' The Plots (with WC) - Already released on Thug By Nature. However, it still is a good song. It's a strong showing by an animated Layzie Bone. It's one of the better tracks on the album. Unless of course you have Thug By Nature, then you're wondering why is it here.
4.5 out of 5
10. Choppin' Game (skit) - It's a skit....

11. Way Too Many (with Outlawz & Stew Deez) - I don't know, the first time I heard this song I automatically thought that it belonged on GTA: San Andreas. It just has that old school vibe. This is definitely a throwback.
5 out of 5

12. Thugged Out (with Thin C & DJ Dre Ghost) - It wont win him any awards. The beat is ok at best. Sometimes its easy to forget the beat and concentrate on the lyrics, this is not one of those tracks because Layzie Bone saves this song somewhat...
2.5 out of 5

13. 2 Step (with Thin C & DJ Dre Ghost) - This song is a tangent from Layzie's usual slew of gangsta lyrics. But it works and Layzie pulls off a club song quite nicely. Not one to show weakness however, the chorus has enough "thugs" in it to stay hard. I like this song, it's one of the better tracks on this album.
4.5 out of 5

14. She Came To Party (with Thin C & DJ Dre Ghost) - This isn't a bad song. The beat is not bad, a bit over mediocre. Lyrics on this song are not bad though I found the first verse a bit mediocre.
4 out of 5

15. Do You Want Me - Pehaps one of his weaker attempts at a sex/love. I don't know, I'm not a fan of this song probably because it's coming on the heel of three somewhat similar songs. This is by no means a club song, but the message's already been received. Perhaps its just bad placement on the album, but to me this song is mediocre.
3.5 out of 5

16. It's On (with M.T.F.) - This is one of the better tracks on the album if not one of the best. Mo Thugs make a good impression on this track. "Hut One, Hut, Two, Hut Three, Hut Four..."
5 out of 5

17. Smokin' On Information (with M.T.F., Snoop Dogg & Joe Little) - A song on Thug By Nature, but here I think some of the spotlight is taken away from it just due to the fact that there are quite a bit of good new songs already on the album. But you will not be skipping this one.
4 out of 5

18. Run Game (with Dogzilla & Stew Deez) - The first thing I did after listening to this song was skip back and listen to it again. I've listened to this song plenty of times now and I'm still not bored. This has to be the best track on the album by far.
5 out of 5

19. The Movement (with M.T.F.) - This is another good song, but I think it's unnecessary on this album because it doesn't fit the whole vibe of the album. It belongs on Mo Thugs IV: The Movement... oh wait, its there too! But by no means is it a bad song. I like it.
4.5 out of 5

20. Outro - Skip this and go back and listen to Run Game over and over again.
3 out of 5

Avg. Track Rating: 4.1
The album isn't worthy of 5 stars only because old songs are on here. However in my personal opinion it is a 5 star album with a minor setback.