Since debuting back in 1991, T-Bone has been an instrumental figure in the existence and development of
Christian rap. The Godfather of Gospel Hip Hop has offered up six albums, two greatest hits albums, and has showcased his skills in
!Hero: The Rock Opera and the Cuba Gooding Jr. starrer The Fighting Temptations. Now, in the midst of working on
his next full-length album, he offers to feed our hunger with Bone Appetit: Servin' Up Tha Hits.
If you were hoping to catch some of his old school stuff here, you will be disappointed. Only hits from Bone-A-Fide,
the ridiculously titled Gospelalphamegafunkyboogiediscomusic, and The Last Street Preacha made it into the mix
(all albums released since T-Bone's been with Flicker Records). But you won't be disappointed at the song selection, as it shows how
much rap and hip hop have changed in just six short years, as well as where it's going. You get songs anywhere from the classic
"Ride Wit Me," to the very West Coast "Dippin'," to the crunk style of "Shake Ya Body." Half of the songs included are from Bone-A-Fide,
T-Bone's latest studio record, so if you were a fan of that one you can sing right along.
Along with the hits, T-Bone threw on his rocker "Raised In Harlem" (from !Hero), 3 new songs (as well as a remix of one
of them), and a somewhat funny track poking fun at Pentecostals (since he's blatanly Pentecostal, he's allowed to do that). Near
the beginning we get "Sing Your Praises," a Latin-spiced R&B groove. It's a little different than anything he has done before, but it
shows that he can be versatile. But for good measure, near the end he throws in a few quick raps. This song returns, in Spanish
form, at the end of the collection to close it off. "King of My Life" is another Latin infused song, taken from a little known compilation
disc from 2001 entitled Soul Lift, but the verses are rapped in
traditional T-Bone style. However, my favorite of the new tracks has to be "Name Droppin'," in which he, uses names for the lyrics -
whether Christian band or famous speaker. For instance, "That's when Ray Boltz straight through the door trying to sell me some Jars
of Clay he got from El Salvador. I couldn't afford it if you know what I mean so I picked up the phone and called the Reverend Al
for some Green". New artists and old, some I didn't even know until I looked at the lyrics.
My only problem with T-Bone has been his use of secular rappers on some of his songs, like Mack 10 and KRS-One, both of whom rap
about their love of and faith in Jesus on T-Bone's songs. However, when you do the research and look into their respective websites
and lyrics, it's anything but Godly. The only disappointments, then, on this greatest hits album, would be "Dippin'" featuring Mista
Grimm, "Gospelalphamegafunkyboogiediscomusic" with KRS-One, and "A Few Good Men" with Mack 10. Other than that,
Bone-Appetit is a good addition to the T-Bone collection.
- PReview date: 7/26/07, Review date: 8/23/07, written by Scott Fryberger
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