Thug by Nature

Thug by Nature is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Layzie Bone, released under his L-Burna alias. It was released on March 20, 2001 through Ruthless Records with distribution via Epic Records. Production was handled by L.T. Hutton, Darren Vegas, Michael Seifert, BB, Buddy Banks, Damon Elliott, Red Spyda, Dre' Ghost, Mauly T., Step and Thin C., with Tomica Wright and Layzie Bone serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Aaron Hall, Baby S, Big Chan, Dekumpozed, Flesh-n-Bone, WC, Geraldine Sigler and Bizzy Bone and Emmortal Thugs on the bonus disc. The album peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200 and number 17 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with 36,406 copies sold in the United States in the first week. It also made it to number 30 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.

Thug by Nature
Studio album by L-Burna a.k.a. Layzie Bone
Released	March 20, 2001 (2001-03-20)
Recorded	2000–01
Genre	Hip hop hardcore hip hop
Length	1:10:42
Label	Ruthless
Producer	Layzie Bone (exec.) Tomica Wright (exec.) BB Buddy Banks Damon Elliott Darren Vegas Dre Ghost L.T. Hutton Mauly T Michael Seifert Red Spyda Step Thin C
Layzie Bone chronology
Thug by Nature (2001) It's Not a Game (2005)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
RapReviews	7.5/10
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide

"Battlefield" and "Deadly Musical" are diss songs aimed at Chicago-based group Do Or Die.

The song "Back Up Against The Wall" is featured on the Soundtrack of Down to Earth.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Carole of the Bones" (featuring Geraldine Sigler)	Steven Howse Michael Seifert	Michael Seifert	0:54
2.	"Battlefield"	Howse Lenton Terrell Hutton	L.T. Hutton	4:04
3.	"Connectin' the Plots" (featuring WC)	Howse William Calhoun Darren Thomas Hubbard	Darren Vegas	4:23
4.	"Fear No Man"	Howse Hutton	L.T. Hutton	3:39
5.	"Time Will Tell" (featuring Dekumpozed)	Howse Brence Skinner Hutton	L.T. Hutton	4:16
6.	"Where You Goin?" (Skit)			1:10
7.	"How Long Will It Last"	Howse Hutton	L.T. Hutton	4:53
8.	"Deadly Musical"	Howse Edward Banks Amefika Williams	Buddy Banks Thin C.	4:18
9.	"Fire in tha Hole" (Skit)			0:39
10.	"There They Go" (featuring Aaron Hall)	Howse Aaron Hall M. Taylor	Mauly T.	3:59
11.	"My Niggaz"	Howse Robin Hardwick Andre Bell	D.J. Dre Ghost	3:11
12.	"Still the Greatest" (featuring Flesh-n-Bone and Big Chan)	Howse Stanley Howse Chan Gaines Hubbard	Darren Vegas	5:29
13.	"Make My Day" (featuring Baby S)	Howse David Ware Leonard Bunn	Step	3:54
14.	"Lock-n-Load"	Howse Hutton	L.T. Hutton	4:34
15.	"Up Against the Wall"	Howse Hubbard	Darren Vegas	3:45
16.	"Thug by Nature"	Howse Andy Thelusma BB	Red Spyda BB	4:42
17.	"Smoke On"	Howse D'wayne Wiggins Charles Ray Wiggins Timothy Christian Riley	Damon Elliott	3:57
18.	"Listen"	Howse Hubbard	Darren Vegas	4:05
19.	"As the Rain"	Howse Seifert	Michael Seifert	4:50
Total length:				1:10:42

Bonus disc

Bonus disc 1

1. "It's all Hood Niggaz"
2. "M.O.G."

Bonus disc 2

1. "Money on da Wood" (featuring Bizzy Bone, Skant Bone and E-Mortal Thugs)
2. "No Matter"

Personnel

• Steven "Layzie Bone"/"L-Burna" Howse – main artist, executive producer
• Geraldine 'Gere' Sigler – vocals (track 1)
• William "WC" Calhoun – featured artist (track 3)
• Brence "Dekumpozed" Skinner – featured artist (track 5)
• Aaron Hall – featured artist (track 10)
• Stanley "Flesh-n-Bone" Howse – featured artist (track 12)
• "Big Chan" Gaines – featured artist (track 12)
• David "Baby S" Ware – featured artist (track 13)
• Michael Seifert – producer & recording (tracks: 1, 19)
• Lenton Terrell Hutton – producer (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 7, 14)
• Darren "Vegas" Hubbard – producer (tracks: 3, 12, 15, 18)
• Edward "Buddy" Banks – producer (track 8)
• Amefika "Thin C" Williams – producer (track 8)
• Mauly Taylor – producer (track 10)
• Andre "Dre Ghost" Bell – producer (track 11)
• Step – producer (track 13)
• BB – producer (track 16)
• Red Spyda – producer (track 16)
• Damon Elliott – producer & recording (track 17)
• Aaron Connor – mixing (tracks: 1, 3, 8, 11-13, 15, 16, 18)
• Brian Springer – recording (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 7), mixing (tracks: 2, 4, 7, 14)
• Richard E. Harris Jr. – recording (tracks: 3, 8, 15, 18, 19)
• Gabe Chiesa – recording (tracks: 4, 7)
• Erik Nordquist – recording (tracks: 11, 17)
• Dino "The Cut" Johnson – recording (track 13)
• Tim Nitz – recording (track 14)
• "Disco Rick" Taylor – recording (track 16)
• Michael Dean – mixing (track 17)
• Eric Williams – recording (track 19)
• Jason Walker – engineering assistant (track 10)
• Joe Brown – engineering assistant (track 17)
• Tomica Wright – executive producer
• Giulio Costanzo – art direction, design
• Image Lumumba – photography

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	30
US Billboard 200	43
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	17

External links

• L-Burna aka Layzie Bone – Thug By Nature at Discogs (list of releases)