Rolling Stone (9/4/97, p.68) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...THE ART OF WAR packs a blast of break beats and mo'-hardcore-than-thou soliloquies....THE ART OF WAR is required reading..."
Entertainment Weekly (8/8/97, p.78) - "...after two hours of these singsong melodies, WAR seems more like a siege than a surgical strike..." - Rating: B
The Source (10/97, p.174) - 4 Mics (out of 5) - "...While MCs may have come before them with quick-tongued lyrical excursions, Bone put their own spin on the style, made it their own....THE ART OF WAR is filled with chest-beating narratives..."
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Wish Bone, Bizzy Bone, D.J. U-Neek.
Additional personnel: 2Pac, Maje$ty, Souljah Boy.
Engineers: Virgil Davis, Jr., DJ U-Neek, Aaron Connor, Rhodri Davies.
Recorded at U-Neek's Workshop, Los Angeles, California and Studio Cat Productions, Hollywood, California.
Four years after their debut, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony prove that they're still the most unique group in hip-hop. This double-CD encompasses elements of both rap and R&B. Keeping it real is a high priority, as the four rappers/singers, Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Wish Bone & Bizzy Bone address such weighty subjects as life, death and God, topics that too many rappers tend to avoid. THE ART OF WAR also shows a softer side to Bone Thugs than their previous albums. On "It's All Real," a track that's more sung than rapped, they explain how the life they describe on record is truly their day-to-day reality. "If I Could Teach The World" and "Look Into My Eyes" are ballads that contain subtle positive messages.