Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is a hip hop music group, formed in Cleveland,
Ohio, U.S., in 1991. It consists of rappers Krayzie Bone, Layzie
Bone, Wish Bone, Bizzy Bone & Flesh-n-Bone. Rapper Eazy-E of
the group N.W.A signed Bone Thugs-n-Harmony to Ruthless Records in
1994, when Bone Thugs debuted with EP Creepin on ah Come Up. That
EP included the hit single "Thuggish Ruggish Bone."
In 1995, the group released its second album, E. 1999 Eternal, which
included hits "1st of tha Month" and "Tha Crossroads." A
tribute to the recently deceased Eazy-E, "Tha Crossroads," won
a Grammy award in 1997. The Art of War, the group's third album,
was also released in 1997.
In 2000 BTNHResurrection reached platinum in one month and Thug
World Order (2002) received more moderate sales and promotion. After
the album the group went on a sort of hiatus and relesed two independent
label releases (Bone 4 Life[1] and Thug Stories) before returning
in 2007 with the mayor label release Strength & Loyalty, this
time released by Swizz Beatz's label Full Surface Records. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
officially returned with their new album Uni-5: The World's Enemy,
released in 2010 by their own record label, BTNH Worldwide, with
distribution by Warner Bros.
Contents
[show]
* 1 Early years
* 2 Ruthless Records
o 2.1 Creepin on ah Come Up
o 2.2 E. 1999 Eternal
o 2.3 The Art of War
o 2.4 BTNHResurrection
o 2.5 Thug World Order
* 3 After Ruthless
o 3.1 Thug Stories
o 3.2 Strength & Loyalty
o 3.3 T.H.U.G.S.
* 4 I Tried (The Bone Thugs Movie)
* 5 Reunion
o 5.1 Uni5: The World's Enemy
o 5.2 E.1999 Eternal Tour and New Record Deal
* 6 Style and technique
* 7 Discography
* 8 Awards
* 9 References
* 10 External links
[edit] Early years
the group consisted of only four members: Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone,
Bizzy Bone and Wish Bone, and the group was originally called B.O.N.E
Enterprise. Their first album, Faces of Death, was recorded in 1993.
With new member and Layzie's brother, Flesh-n-Bone who was a member
of the Crips[citation needed], added the same year, the group renamed
itself Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. In November 1993, the group auditioned
backstage for rapper Eazy-E. Krayzie Bone performed his verse of "Flow
Motion" from the Faces of Death album and Eazy-E was impressed.[2]
Eazy-E signed the group to his label Ruthless Records.[3]
[edit] Ruthless Records
[edit] Creepin on ah Come Up
Released in June 1994, the EP Creepin on ah Come Up, was Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's
debut with Ruthless. Peaking at #12 on the Billboard 200 album chart
and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart,[4] it included the
hit singles "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" and "Foe tha Love
of $", the second of which featured a verse by Eazy-E. "Thuggish
Ruggish Bone" peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and
#2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart, and "Foe tha Love of $" peaked
at #41 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Rap Tracks.[5]
[edit] E. 1999 Eternal
In 1995, the group's second album E. 1999 Eternal was released.
It included the singles "1st of tha Month", which peaked
at #14 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Hot Rap Tracks, and "Tha
Crossroads", which reached #1 on the Hot 100 and Hot Rap Tracks
charts. The album name originated from Eazy-E's album, Eternal E,
naming it after Eazy-E's album was just another way of showing respect
and tribute to the rapper that helped make them big. In the same
year, Flesh-n-Bone would become the first member of the group to
release a debut album entitled T.H.U.G.S.
[edit] The Art of War
In 1997, the group released the double-disc set The Art of War.
The single "Look into My Eyes" appeared on the soundtrack
of the film Batman & Robin. It peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 and
#2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.[5] "If I Could Teach the World",
the other single from The Art of War, peaked at #27 on the Hot 100
and #3 on the Hot Rap Tracks.[5]
[edit] BTNHResurrection
In 2000, the group released BTNHResurrection. The album featured
the single "Resurrection (Paper, Paper)", which peaked
on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at #52.[5] Flesh-n-Bone was
convicted for assault with a firearm and criminal possession of a
weapon in June 2000.[6] Pleading guilty, Flesh-n-Bone was sentenced
to 11 years in prison.[7] Bizzy Bone abstained from promoting BTNHResurrection
because he felt that Ruthless Records owed him money. He dropped
a million-dollar lawsuit he filed against Sony Music and Loud Records
in exchange for a termination of his Sony contract.[8] Three members
of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony released solo albums in 2001: Bizzy Bone
with The Gift, Layzie Bone with Thug by Nature, and Krayzie Bone
with Thug on da Line.[9]
[edit] Thug World Order
In 2002, the group released Thug World Order. The album debuted
at #12 on the Billboard 200,[4] and its single "Home" that
featured Phil Collins performing part of his song "Take Me Home" peaked
at #33 on the Rhythmic Top 40.[5] Bizzy Bone was expelled from the
group in January 2003.[10]
[edit] After Ruthless
[edit] Thug Stories
Thug Stories, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's sixth album, was recorded on
Koch Records and released on September 19, 2006. It marked the first
time Bone Thugs-n-Harmony recorded as a trio. Thug Stories sold 38,000
in its first week and peaked at #25 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on
the Independent Album Chart.
[edit] Strength & Loyalty
Originally to be called The Bone Thugs Story, Strength & Loyalty
was released on May 8, 2007. Being their first major album after
an absence of nearly five years, the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard
200 and #1 on iTunes and the Billboard Urban Music charts. The album
contains guest appearances by Mariah Carey, The Game, will.i.am,
Akon, Twista, Bow Wow, Yolanda Adams, and Felecia.
Producers on the album included Swizz Beatz, Akon, Pretty Boy & Bradd
Young, DJ Toomp, Jermaine Dupri, will.i.am, and others. The executive
producer of the album was Swizz Beatz. The first single was "I
Tried", which was their first top 10 hit in 10 years, having
peaked at number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The second single
was "Lil Love", which failed to reach the success of their
first single. The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA.[11]
[edit] T.H.U.G.S.
T.H.U.G.S. is an album featuring previously unreleased, largely
remixed Bone Thugs-n-Harmony songs that didn't make the final cut
of BTNHResurrection and Thug World Order albums. It was released
on November 13, 2007 by their former record label, Ruthless Records.
The sole single off the album was "Young Thugs", which
was accompanied by a newly-filmed music video featuring Krayzie,
Layzie, Bizzy and Wish.
[edit] I Tried (The Bone Thugs Movie)
Bone has also released a movie titled I Tried(directed by Rich Newey),
which was originally named "What If..." The topic of the
movie is how different the lives of Krayzie, Layzie and Wish would
have been if they had never met Eazy-E. The movie was released in
stores on September 25 of 2007. It has since become a platinum selling
DVD.[12]
[edit] Reunion
In November 2007, Layzie Bone confirmed that he had completed the
Bone Brothers III album with Bizzy Bone, spurring speculation of
a full Bone reunion. In a video interview,[13] Krayzie Bone stated
that they all wanted to reunite but that record label issues may
prevent an official reunion. Bizzy Bone had attended a Bone Thugs
performance during the time and he and the three then-standing members
had a "good conversation".
After nearly a decade of incarceration, Flesh-n-Bone was released
from prison on July 13, 2008. In an interview, Bizzy confirmed his
return to the group, after them all getting together by the time
of Flesh's release.[14]
[edit] Uni5: The World's Enemy
video.[15] A third single, "Meet Me in the Sky", was released
on March 22. Uni-5: The World's Enemy was released on May 4, 2010.
[edit] E.1999 Eternal Tour and New Record Deal
In the fall of 2010, the group went on their E.1999 Eternal Tour,
a 36-city tour performing songs from their 1995 album E 1999 Eternal
with a live band (without Bizzy). Bone will spend the rest of 2010
recording a new CD for a soon-to-be-disclosed new label deal, writing
a book, and developing a film project based on their unique story.
[edit] Style and technique
Bone's style and technique can be described as melodic, rapid-fire
and aggressive. Their flow is often interwoven at a high-speed, melodic
pace or slow, harmonic pace. They also tend to ride the beat that
they're rapping over. Sometimes there are very few choruses separating
their verses from one another. In the beginning, circa Faces of Death,
Bone used a pseudo-Jamaican patois delivery with their trademark
style, though they rarely do this now. Bone's subject matter has
both spiritual and occult undertones (e.g., "Hell Sent", "Intro", "Mr.
Ouija", "Mr. Ouija 2" and "Da Introduction").
At first, their subject matter was almost always exclusively about
violence and smoking marijuana. Today, however, their subject matter
includes other topics such as urban socio-political issues, their
old friend and mentor Eazy-E and religion. Besides minor changes
to subject matter and sound, their lyrical style, elocution, and
overall methodology remain intact.
[edit] Discography
Main article: Bone Thugs-n-Harmony discography
* 1993: Faces of Death
* 1994: Creepin on ah Come Up
* 1995: E. 1999 Eternal
* 1997: The Art of War
* 2000: BTNHResurrection
* 2002: Thug World Order
* 2006: Thug Stories
* 2007: Strength & Loyalty
* 2010: Uni5: The World's Enemy
[edit] Awards
Award Category Song/Album Year Result
Grammy Awards "Best Rap Album" E. 1999 Eternal 1996 Nominated
"
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group" 1st of tha Month Nominated
Tha Crossroads 1997 Won
American Music Awards "Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist" Bone
Thugs-n-Harmony 1996 Nominated
1997 Nominated
1998 Won
"
Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Band, Duo or Group" 2007 Won
MTV Video Music Awards "Best Special Effects" Tha Crossroads
1996 Won
"
Viewer's Choice" Won
"
Video of the Year" Won
"
Best Group Video" Nominated