Bizzy Bone Album: “The Midwest Cowboy (Collector's Edition)”

This is hard for me to say, but this is probably Bizzy's second best cd. The beats (for the most part) bang, and Bizzy sticks to doing what he does best: spit between well-sung choruses. Okay, the Christian overtones have (thankfully) taken a backseat on this cd. Playalitical does a good job providing Bizzy unique and dope backdrops to do his thing. The first song is really dope, but too short. Also, the inclusion of skits (including one that seems to be drug-induced rambling about Jesus) doesn't help the cause of an album that's only 15 tracks deep (including both skits and the short intro/song). "Around the World" has to be the albums high-point as it showcases the best of Bizzy. Playalitical likes to mess with the way Bizzy records his vocals, and I think it's very original and adds a lot to the "evolution" of Bizzy, as sometimes it seems as though he's rapping like it's 1998. The influence of the album's producer is evident all over this album (and that's a GREAT thing). I don't think the direction-less Bizzy found on previous albums could do the great harmonizations as seen on "Thugs Need Love Too" or the amazing chorus from "What Do We Say?". The artistic growth leads to some more good ol' confusing and confounding hypocrisy with tracks like "Lovey Dovey" finding their sonic and moral opposites in songs like "$20 Bill" and "Doin It Wrong". The pleading to Bizzy's ex-wife to see his child on "I Must Fess Up" are deeply personal and a great addition to Bizzy's repetoire of songs. This is a good cd, but it's a tad short and "If the Sky Falls" doesn't tell us anything we haven't heard from Bizzy before. "Blown Away" doesn't match the caliber of weed-smoking anthems Bizzy's capable of. Bust mostly it's the off-kilter electric piano melody throwing me off, as well as the pointless guest appearance. All in all, this is a good album, and I hope Bizzy continues evolving and even working with Playalitical (it seems Bizzy pumps out alright albums every few months, each on a different lable with different producers and artists...prolific, but disappointing).

Again, as the days draw closer 'til Bizzy Bone's returns back to a major label debut with Virgin Records...I urge fans of both Bizzy's and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony to go out and pick up this cd "The Midwest Cowboy"

I remember grabbing this cd when I was down in Orlando, Florida while I work at Walt Disney World about a year ago; I saw it at a local Virgin Record store. I notice that Bizzy had bout three new albums out & "The Midwest Cowboy" was one of them. I was glad that I pick this cd up because, to be honest, Bizzy has evolved into a better lyricist than he was when he was still with Bone.

His previous albums suffer a bit due to the fact that he was collaboratin' with sub-par producers. With this album he had a great push for labels to look at him again with the help of Texas native producer Playalitikal. Each track, from top to bottom, Bizzy shows his strength and pen some of the greatest lyrics that come straight from his heart. Whether it is about pleading for his daughter in "I Must Fess Up", or his plans for the future and his outlook on "Around the World", and the ocassional talk about his religion and relationships in tracks like "Lovey, Dovey"; Bizzy gives his all and thats what real Hip Hop fans love -- Honesty.

Of course, the only minus sign of the album is that he does not display his rapid-fire speed in most of his tracks. Moreover, he is just showing that he is not all about speed, but about depth and texture in his lyrics and he wants the world to hear it.

Overall, to satisfy you fix before the album drops pick up "The Midwest Cowboy" & you will not be disappointed.

i like this album. a huge step up in sound production. lyrics are ill as always. the remixes are dope cuz the flow is altered making it a whole lot easier to catch the lyrical content. its strange how with bizzy, i feel as a listener always ready for more. it may be cuz his flow is very current and evolving in the moment along with the world(jihad). i hear his new album is highlighting the koran and the truth of allah. peace another good contribution to the culture of faith music. oh yea...playalitical did a good job here with production and not a bad emcee. usually i'm not feelin the guest performances besides alpha/omega. aiight yo 1

first off, i really do like this album! i m a big fan of bone, and have all there albums group or solo, but i was kind of losing my like for bone mainly due to weak solo albums, that suffered mostly because of bad production. past albums like speaking in tongues, thugs revenge, and the story are str8 up garbage to me. just when i was about to give up on bizzy, and not purchase no more albums, i just held on to that little love for bone i still had, and thought to give this a chance, and i love it. the best thing about this bizzy album is it has alot better production than all this solos since heavens movie due to producer Playalitical who produces the whole album. bizzy bone is a very talented artist, he is a lyricis, with a great stlye of fast rap, and sing songy harmony which is what bone is known for, with alot of subject matter that really is fealt through his songs. he is very honest about who he is. i recommend this album to anybody who still likes bone, i promise you enjoy it. i just wish him, and all the members of bone would stop rapping, so slow, i dont care if i dont understand every word in the song like the old albums, because that stlye was soooooo cold jack!