Ladies and gentlemen, the self-proclaimed, “God of the Underground’’ has returned, providing his fans with a brand new collection of tracks after an agonizing seven weeks of inactivity. The release of “2MillionBlunts” marks BONES’ fourth project to come down the pipeline this year.
To the untrained eye, four albums in a single calendar year may seem like overkill, but for longtime fans it is just business as usual. On top of that, this could be the Michigan rapper’s way of capitalizing on the newfound exposure he experienced this year when the 2019 track “AirplaneMode” went viral on TikTok. Thanks to his unmatched work rate, he has been putting out music under his current stage name since July of 2012. From the age of 17 to now, he has released 48 studio albums, including “2MB.” His entire discography consists of over 80 projects in total. Needless to say, if he ever decides to go on an extended vacation, his back catalog will be more than enough to hold the supporters over until he returns.
By that same token, when an artist puts out a ridiculous amount of material in a short amount of time, it is not too far-fetched to imagine that they would run out of ideas quickly. That is not the case for the “DeadBoy.” Known for wearing his influences on his sleeve, BONES kicks off the whole project with a nod to the west coast. The smooth, laid-back opener “SittinOnChrome” sounds like it would fit in all nice and snug in a playlist filled with tracks by artists like Warren G (“Regulate”) and the incomparable Snoop Dogg (“Gin and Juice”). On the cut “GloveBox,” he comes through with quick, biting flows reminiscent of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (“Thuggish Ruggish Bone”).
Much like “SittinOnChrome,” BONES offers his interpretation of the ‘90s G-Funk sound that was made famous in the west coast on the song, “BrownBagSippin,” which also boasts one of the album’s strongest choruses. BONES can really sing when he wants to and this track is proof.
Another staple of TeamSESH’s (“TakingOutTheTrash”) fearless leader is the lack of features on most of his projects. However, out of the LP’s 19 tracks, five of them contain verses by featured artists. Though that is less than 30% of the songs, for BONES, that is a lot. The biggest and most surprising guest appearance came from Young Thug (“Hot”) and protege Lil Gotit (“Brotherly Love”), who brings his own brand of Atlanta flare to the track “DeathRow.” There is also the song “MaliceAtThePalace,” which pulls influence from the current wave of Michigan rap shining through, with one of its frontrunners, Rio Da Yung OG (“Legendary”) providing a relentlessly funny set of bars. Seriously, it is the most Michigan thing ever.
To get the least impressive song out of the way, that dishonorable title goes to “Passion.” With a weak hook and an uninteresting instrumental, this is definitely the low point of the project. “2MillionBlunts” all together is a pretty easy listen. Some of BONES’ chillest material lies right here. There is a fine line between chilled out and straight up boring, and the underground legend walks it with borderline perfection.
Image from BONES – Topicvia YouTube
