Boneyard/Flicker Records
Bone-a-fide is a release worthy of a rapper who has paid his dues and “been ripping mikes since [the days of] tape decks”. Only the most enduring Holy Hip-Hop fans would know that the MC who is now probably best known for his role as the latino rapper in Beyonce & Cuba’s ‘Fighting Temptations’ movie has actually been in the ‘game’ for 12 years. And with this album he makes a power play with a textbook perfect approach to putting a modern day rap album together.
Few would deny T-Bone the credit of being one of the best MCs in the game, with his bi-lingual lyrics, which often shoot out with the speed and ferocity of a high calibre automatic firearm. But this time he has supplemented his wordplay with top quality production from an arsenal of Gospels top producers.
Reporting for production duty are Fred Jerkins of Darkchild, Warryn ‘Baby Dubb’ Campbell, and Teak & Dee Underdone. Teak and Dee combine to create a track that is sinister and bouncy on ‘Let That Thang Go’. Uncle Freddie is ably assisted by the high- pitched vocals of LeSawn Daniels on the excellent ‘Can I Live’. Whilst ‘I Been Looking Around’ borrows a vocal sample from Patti LaBelle to great effect in true Kanye West fashion, ‘Follow T’ is three verses of braggadocios baradoccio ego rap over a banging beat. Simple. That is the essence of hip-hop. How it was always meant to be.
To think, the greatest rap beef ever was all Memphis Bleek’s fault. On 2000’s “My Mind Right,” he says the lines, “Your life’s a lie, but here’s the truth: You ain’t hype to die but you hype to shoot.” Read between the lines and the insult seemed to be directed at Nas, who responded to both Bleek and Jay Z in subliminals on mixtape tracks. This was taken to another level on 2001’s “The Takeover,” where Jay called Nas a “lame” and dissected his entire catalog piece by piece. Nas responded with “Ether,” in which he compares the Brooklyn rapper to Judas and a camel. This prompted Jay to respond with “Supa Ugly,” where he gleefully admitted to have been sleeping with Nas’ baby’s mother. (Right then, in a Hot97 on-air segment, listeners voted “Ether” as the winning track, and Jay apologized for having gone too far.) Now, the two rap kings are friends, having recorded together a bunch of times after squashing their beef in 2005 at the “I Declare War” concert in Philadelphia.