When Bone Thugs-N-Harmony popped up on the national radar in the early 90s, it was pretty easy to understand how they skyrocketed to the top. There had never been any other prominent group to combine rapidfire flow with singing the way Bone did. The music was very dark, but not in an over the top shock-value-for-sales kinda way. But like the saying goes, what goes up must come down. After all the millions of records sold, after all the awards, and all the legendary collaborations, things started to fall apart. They became embroiled in a battle with Ruthless Records that would drag on for at least 6 years, group members went to jail, some battled with substance abuse, and worst of all the albums started to suck.

Strength & Loyalty is the seventh Bone album total, and their first album since 2002, but for all intents and purposes its probably the first time in ten years they've had a proper label relationship, and a good working environment to make an album worth listening to. The group seems happy as a whole, for the first time in ages, and thats one element that definitely comes through on this album. The lone drawback is Bizzy Bone is nowhere to be found on Strength & Loyalty, pulling out and deciding not to participate in the project. You never really know with Bizzy, sometimes they kick him out, sometimes he leaves, most of the time he's too drunk to take part in tours and promo, so maybe its for the best.
So, after listening to the album over the last few days I can definitely say its solid, but not great. Bone is such a unique group that their material is usually hit or miss, they dont leave much room for middle ground. "Flowmotion" is the perfect track to kick off this album, it encompasses almost everything people love about Bone. Fast rapidfire flow weaving seamlessly with the soulful track. Then on the very next song they show you exactly whats wrong with Strength & Loyalty. "Bumps In The Trunk" with Swizz Beats, comes off as an attempt to make the group relevant to the kind of hip hop thats popular today. It just doesnt work, and for the duration of the album, hits and misses like this are commonplace. The absence of Bizzy definitely takes its toll, he was an important peice of what made them work. Bizzy is the "Harmony" in Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
The album is worth giving a listen to because of the highs, when Bone is sticking to what it does best..there are few acts out there who can compete. Tracks like Flowmotion, I tried featuring Akon, Wind Blow, and Gun Blast are vintage Bone. Even if you're skeptical about purchasing an entire album you might not like, those tracks are definitely worth individual itunes purchases. So ultimately, Strength & Loyalty is good, not great.. definitely not something you should just ignore, but proceed with caution.
*The Good:* Flowmotion, Wind Blow, I tried. Great tracks definitely worth downloading. Also, Bone is finally on a good record label, and we wont have to wait 5 years between albums anymore. On "Never Forget Me" an olive branch is extended to Bizzy, so it's possible he'll be on future albums.*The Bad:* Not enough consistency, it's one of those albums where you'll definitely skip around alot. *The Ugly:* A few songs that sound like forced attempts at getting radio play (like the mariah carey/bow wow song). Also... the "Harmony" in Bone Thugs N Harmony isnt as prominent as it used to be. Most of the singing is left to guests (akon, yolanda adams, felicia, Mariah)... this is where bizzy is missed.
*Verdict:* 3 out of 5 mogs