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The Art of War is an album by rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony which was released on July 29, 1997. The album sold in the first week 394,000 units. The album reached 4x platinum in June 1998. It was the first double-album from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. The album included the platinum-single "Look into My Eyes", and the gold-single "If I Could Teach the World". The whole album is produced by DJ U-Neek. The album was rumored to be called "DNA Level C" which is Cleveland backwards. "The Art of War" was created as a war against all the "clones" that came up to bite Bone's style and originality (Do or Die, Crucial Conflict, Twista & The Speedknots, Bone Killas, Tommy Wright III). In "Ready 4 War," Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (along with Mr. Majesty) called out Crucial Conflict directly by name.
At this time Bizzy's dad had just died and with Tomica Wright now heading Ruthless, he was not happy so he did not appear for many shows or promotions. Many tracks were all altered by Tomica Wright now calling all the shots, trying to head Bone into a new direction (tracks include Thug Luv with Sylk E Fyne, If I Could Teach the World, Friends, Ready For War and many others). Bone appeared at Sprite Nite on BET, Keenan Ivory Wayans (with Bizzy), and several other promotions but their major tour began to lag without Bizzy. They also changed the name of "Friends" for the cassette version to "How Many of Us Have Them". The first single for this album was Look Into My Eyes which was also on the Batman And Robin soundtrack. The video did not feature Bizzy or Flesh. The next single was "If I Could Teach the World". Bizzy did not appear in this video either. Thug Luv and Body Rott were also released to radio as singles.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] World War 1
| # |
Title |
Featured Guest(s) |
Length |
| 1 |
"Retaliation" (Intro) |
DJ U-Neek |
2:21 |
| 2 |
"Handle the Vibe" |
|
4:40 |
| 3 |
"Look into My Eyes" |
|
4:19 |
| 4 |
"Body Rott" |
|
5:01 |
| 5 |
"It's All Mo' Thug" |
|
5:12 |
| 6 |
"Ready 4 War" |
Maje$ty |
4:36 |
| 7 |
"Ain't Nothin Changed (Everyday Thang Part 2)" |
|
4:43 |
| 8 |
"Clog Up Yo Mind" |
|
5:01 |
| 9 |
"It's All Real" |
|
5:08 |
| 10 |
"Hardtimes" (Interlude) |
|
2:49 |
| 11 |
"Mind of a Souljah" |
|
4:39 |
| 12 |
"If I Could Teach the World" |
|
4:24 |
| 13 |
"Family Tree" |
|
5:49 |
[edit] World War 2
| # |
Title |
Featured Guest(s) |
Length |
| 1 |
"Mo' Thug" (Interlude) |
|
1:40 |
| 2 |
"Thug Luv" |
2Pac |
5:08 |
| 3 |
"Hatin Nation" |
|
5:12 |
| 4 |
"7 Sign" |
<Maje$ty> |
4:48 |
| 5 |
"Wasteland Warriors" |
Soujah Boy |
4:28 |
| 6 |
"Neighborhood Slang" (Interlude) |
|
1:29 |
| 7 |
"U Ain't Bone" |
|
5:04 |
| 8 |
"Get Cha Thug On" |
Tre |
4:02 |
| 9 |
"All Original" |
|
4:58 |
| 10 |
"Blaze It" (Interlude) |
|
2:08 |
| 11 |
"Let the Law End" |
|
3:36 |
| 12 |
"Whom Die They Lie" |
|
4:24 |
| 13 |
"Friends" |
|
5:10 |
| 14 |
"Evil Paradise" |
|
4:48 |
| 15 |
"Mo' Thug Family Tree" |
Mo Thugs |
5:37 |
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (1997) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard 200 |
1 |
| U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums |
1 |
[edit] Singles
| Song |
Chart (1997) |
Peak
position |
| "If I Could Teach the World" |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 |
27 |
| "If I Could Teach the World" |
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs |
20 |
| "If I Could Teach the World" |
U.S. Hot Rap Tracks |
3 |
| "Look into My Eyes" |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 |
4 |
| "Look into My Eyes" |
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs |
4 |
| "Look into My Eyes" |
U.S. Hot Rap Tracks |
2 |
[edit] Singles
