IV: The Movement

• Artist: Mo Thugs Family
• Rating:
• Release Date: June 10, 2003
• Type: Contains explicit content, Enhanced CD-ROM
• Genre: Rock

Review

Despite limited success and the increasingly depreciating reputation of Bone Thugs themselves, the Mo Thugs Family returned for their forth go-round, IV: The Movement, and seem surprisingly unhindered by their previous commercial struggles. By this point the loose collective's ringleader, Layzie Bone, had consolidated the Family into a few standout performers who share the spotlight here: Ken Dawg, Felecia, E-Mortal Thugs, and Skant. The focus on these few Thugs is certainly welcome, as they're all enormously talented, particularly the silky-voiced Felecia; furthermore, it makes for a more consistent listening experience, as they each get a couple tracks of their own to shine, with Layzie turning in some standout contributions of his own. The production work on The Movement unfortunately isn't nearly as consistent as the performers. The half-dozen producers share a West Coast approach to synthesized beatmaking, which is fine and the norm for Bone, but they flip it differently on practically every track, crafting a Janet Jackson-style contemporary soul track for Felecia one moment and a jittery Dirty South-style club-banger the next. This mishmash of styles remains the most frustrating characteristic of the Mo Thugs Family: They're a diverse bunch with a little bit of everything for everyone but not really enough of anything to leave you feeling satisfied. So, while The Movement certainly has its moments and showcases some impressive talents, it's a mixed bag. Sure, that's the idea here, as these Mo Thugs albums are meant to be samplers that lay the foundation for solo follow-ups. However, seven years and four albums after Mo Thugs debuted, they still haven't spun off any significant solo ventures; they just keep returning with more jumbled albums that unfortunately never equal the sum of their parts. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Intro	Chris Flores	Mo Thugs Family	(1:26)
The Movement	D. Hudson, Jr., S. Howse	Mo Thugs Family	(5:10)
Told Chall	D. Hudson, Jr., S. Howse	Layzie Bone	(3:45)
It Ain't Nottin'		Ken Dawg	(4:28)
Do Your Thang	S. Howse	Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone	(3:56)
Fa' Sho'			(4:14)
All Life Long	S. Howse	Layzie Bone	(3:41)
Love Is		Thin C	(3:41)
Tha Land			(3:47)
My Dawgs	D. Hudson, Jr., S. Howse		(4:54)
It's Fast		Ken Dawg, Dirty Red	(3:36)
Maximum Maximize	D. Hudson, Jr.		(4:27)
Smokin' on Information	S. Howse	Snoop Dogg, Ken Dawg, Layzie Bone	(5:11)
Can You Dig It	S. Howse	Layzie Bone, Thin C	(4:13)
Dead Wrong		Mark Twayne	(4:29)
Be Free	S. Howse	Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone	(4:04)
Who Ya Gonna Run To		Felecia	(3:48)
Thug Finale	D. Hudson, Jr., S. Howse		(4:08)

Credits

Richard Feldman (Engineer), Erik Nordquiest (Engineer), Erik Nordquiest (Mixing), Mo Thugs Family (Main Performer), Aldy Damian (Executive Producer), Larry Darrell (Programming), Layzie Bone (Executive Producer), Mauly T. (Producer), Mauly T. (Engineer), Felecia (Vocals (Background)), Brian Porizek (Artwork), Brian Porizek (Design), Wyatt (Engineer), Wyatt (Mixing), Mark Twayne (Producer), The Platinum Brothers (Producer)