BROWN'S FAVE FIVE AT 5 / Bizzy Bone's Greatest Albums

What's hood yall. Hoping everyone rose in the highest of spirits. Birds are chirping, crows are crowing, and someone is smoking some goooooooood cali grass. It's a beautiful Thursday morning in Los Angeles!

WELCOME to a New BROWN'S FAVE FIVE AT 5!!

It's September 12, Bizzy Bone's birthday. And with Bizzy's birthday comes a tradition that Bizzy Bone fans are very familiar with, the release of a new album. That's right, on Bizzy's birthdays he gives US a gift! And at 12:00am Eastern Standard Time, Bizzy Bone released the self titled "Bizzy Bone LP". I've already played it three times since I woke up, woke up. It's available for streaming and pre-order, I highly recommend you give it a spin.

With the release of his 26th solo project, I, as huge fan of Bizzy Bone, wanted to do something special to celebrate the occassion.

The Great Brown Hope is gonna countdown his Fave Five Bizzy Bone albums. Being a lifelong Bizzy Bone fan, it was a difficult task to pick out five albums from a string of solo releases from as early as 1998. I was finally able to decide on five albums that I would use to convince someone who hasn't listened to Bizzy Bone's extensive, ever-expanding library. Bizzy Bone is one of the last pioneers of hip hop and rap that continues to evolve with the times while still remaining true to himself and his music. I could ramble on about it all day but we are here to acknowledge, appreciate, and celebrate greatness.

Happy Birthday Bizzy Bone, this one's for you.

LET'S GET TO IT YALL!!!

BROWN'S FAVE FIVE AT 5

Bizzy Bone's Greatest Albums

HONORABLE MENTION:

BIZZY BONE

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Released in 2005, Speaking in Tongues was the resurgence of Bizzy Bone as a full time solo artist after reunions with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony fell through. A seasoned veteran at the time, Bizzy Bone took to the microphone to address rumors about his well being in the only way he knows how. Bizzy Bone not only battles but embraces his own demons, and takes the fight to the masses. The two strong points on this album are the tracks "Seeing Things" and "Beauty (You Just a Rose)", both completely different songs in every aspect, but both arguably belong in the upper echelon of Bizzy Bone's best tracks ever put together. A solid all around effort and possibly the most complex album Bizzy Bone has ever released.

NUMBER 5:

BIZZY BONE

THE WONDER YEARS

Conspiracy theorists, this album is for you. In collaboration with Krayzie Bone's label, Bizzy Bone released The Wonder Years in 2014. The beautiful thing about Bizzy Bone's music is that he has always been a storyteller first. This album tells a story that begins with the mystery of birds falling from the sky in Bebee, Arkansas, aliens and UFO sightings, and touches upon various topics like democracy and religion, like breezing through channels looking for something to watch. From beginning to end, Bizzy Bone shows off his ability to not only evolve with the times, but also sets the bar yet again for not just delivery but structure as well. Bizzy Bone always shows growth, and a sense of control of his own product for the first time in a long time. Unlike Speaking In Tongues, this album is easier on the ears of fans unfamiliar with BB Da Thug, and a solid piece to use when attempting to get someone's interest, especially someone into alien, government, and religious conspiracies.

NUMBER 4:

BIZZY BONE

ALPHA & OMEGA

Two days from now will mark the 20th Anniversary of the release of Bizzy Bone's third solo album Alpha & Omega, an album that a majority of Bizzy Bone's fanbase will rank among their favorite Bizzy Bone releases. Up until the release, everyone wanted to know what was going on with Bizzy Bone and what was going on with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and an array of other questions that Bizzy Bone answered in songs like "Not Afraid", as well as addressing his undying loyalty to Bone in "Died 4 U". Bizzy Bone was focused and ready to make a name for himself and his crew, the 7th Sign Regime. A strong outing that even featured a diss track aimed at B2K for lying that they had signed him to deal, Bizzy Bone's third at-bat is nothing short of a home run. Bizzy and crew put together such a great work of art that they had to release an accompanying album a month later titled Tha Beginning & Tha End, another solid LP that closely rivals A&O had it not been constructed to parallel the latter.

NUMBER 3:

BIZZY BONE

HEAVEN'Z MOVIE

Gonna get some heat for this one, but this is Brown's countdown, not yours!

Heaven'z Movie was the first solo album released by Bizzy Bone, and was only the second solo album released by one of the five original members of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Alot of history surrounds this project, including the beef Bizzy Bone has with Tomika Wright, the widow of Eazy E who was now in charge of Ruthless Records, the label Bizzy and Bone were signed to. And with Bad Blood (sit down Taylor Swift) came bad politics that caused issues for this album. Samples weren't cleared and songs were being cut short, but that doesn't take away from the cult like following this album has amassed. Ever since the beginning Bizzy Bone has put together albums the old school way, like a storybook. And from an era where storybook hip hop albums were a staple of the genre, this one sticks out to me as one that doesnt get the credit and appreciation it deserves. This album brought us well known classics like "Thugz Cry" and "Nobody Can Stop Me", both well known to admirers and followers of rap and hip hop. Heaven'z Movie was a warning shot to the world of what exactly Bizzy Bone was capable of given the opportunity. More than 20 years later this album has lost none of its luster and continues to be a footnote in the halls of hip hop and rap history.

NUMBER 2:

BIZZY BONE

CROSSROADS:2010

This one caught me, and others surely, by surprise when Sumerian Records had announced they had signed Bizzy Bone to a one album deal. Being a fan of all genres, I had no idea what to expect as Bizzy Bone hadn't released any rock music before. This was going be something new, and something very interesting. From the haunting synthesizers to the groovy guitar riffs, Bizzy Bone adapted and added a brand new style of delivery to his arsenal. Enlisting the services of Jonny Craig, Danny Worsnop, and Devin Oliver, Bizzy rides an unfamiliar wave of rock melodies with precision and flawless swiftness on tracks like "Bottled Up Like Smoke" and "Automatic Rewind" . No one is safe Bizzy Bone's wrath, as Bizzy goes after not only the haters, but Wendy Williams as well for her comments about Bizzy, Notorious B.I.G., and Tupac Shakur. A true rollercoaster ride that'll turn even the biggest rock enthusiast into a Bizzy Bone fan.

NUMBER 1:

BIZZY BONE

CARBON MONOXIDE

Never disrespect the legends. That's a lesson that the group Migos and 21 Savage learned the hard way.

For a long time, Bizzy Bone fans wanted the old Bizzy Bone back. They, we, wanted BB Gambini. We wanted the Lil Ripsta that was capable of destroying any target at any given moment. Migos and 21 Savage made the fatal mistake of awakening a sleeping giant. Bizzy Bone took to the booth and made his frustations and his intentions known. But this wasn't just a one off diss track. Bizzy Bone took the style of rap that these newer artists were using, and went and showed the world he could do way better. The styles and deliveries of today are heavily inspired, if not stolen, from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. You gotta give credit where it's due, and this newer generation didnt wanna do that. Bizzy Bone took this new style of rap and made it his own, putting together yet another storybook like outing. Bizzy Bone continues to elevate music to new standards ahead of the times that others are not drawn to just yet. And that's evidenced in this album on tracks like "Enigma" and "Carbon Monoxide". But the true highlight of the album is "Remember What Eazy Said", a song of pain dedicated to not only Eazy E's memory, but also the misery that comes with being without his mentor. Carbon Monoxide is in my eyes Bizzy Bone's greatest album ever released. No bullshit, no nonsense. Just a pissed off, hungry Bizzy Bone firing verbal missiles from inside a studio. And as dangerous and consistent as that type of Bizzy Bone can be, it's no mystery why Bizzy Bone still continues to release music to this day.