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Bone Thugs’ songs are packed with rapid double, sometimes triple, timed delivery and impromptu harmonising that floats and intertwines to find alternate rhythms atop the primary beat. Favoured collaborator DJ U-Neek provided the creeping G-Funk that marked their most successful period and his approach, often marked by deep percussive piano, is strong enough to stand alone but has a lot of empty space and provides a canvas for the group’s wistful but unabashed raps. Providing a setting for their idiosyncratic outlook, the geographic point is carried over directly into the sonics and the panoramic production that characterises Bone Thugs’ work. The block, also referenced as “E.1999” or “tha double glock”, is short-hand for the group’s street credibility and the foundation to stretch ideas and insights into something that transcends the everyday. The constant references to East 99th street is typical rap territoriality but there is also something special about the way Bone Thugs extend space, placing it at the centre of their millenarian mythology. Throughout their career, the five-piece have kept ten toes on the ground in Cleveland and particularly at the intersection of East 99th and St. The oldest members of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony were only 22 at the release of the 1995 debut album ‘E.1999 Eternal’ and the video for their first single Thuggish Ruggish Bone released two years earlier shows them slumping and stunting on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in their home town. Once a diverting, if incredibly respected, side-current to the rap’s mainstream and underground, their youthful street romanticism and foggy beauty have inspired the current generation of rappers more than any other group. With their melodic but intensely aggressive music, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony contorted the rap template in their singular recordings. Often imitated and hugely influential, the group carved out a sound like no-one else and forged a style that stands out to this day. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony have released eight albums in a 20-year career, the first four on Ruthless, and have plans to release more material in the future. Emerging from inner-city Cleveland, Ohio in the early 90s the group were spotted by Eazy-E, who signed the five-piece to his Ruthless Records imprint. The song took on an unexpected meaning after Eazy-E's March 1995 death.Bone Thugs-n-Harmony are a true rap institution. The album's tribute to their dead homies, called "See You At The Crossroads," became an MTV smash hit, launching them into mainstream radio play. The new album was released in 1995, and proved a great blend of sweet soul harmonies and boulevard mentalities. Their Ruthless/ Relativity EP debut, Creepin' On Ah Come Up, started moving large quantities shortly after its June 1994 release, shot past triple-platinum sales and became an R&B, and Rap chart topper.Īs the EP continued its reign atop the charts, the group began work on their debut LP, E. They found him backstage and after their second audition, Eazy signed them to his Ruthless Records label.īone's debut single, "Thuggish Ruggish Bone," sold more than 500,000 copies and the video was the cable music channel the Box's most-requested of 1994.
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When they learned Eazy was doing a show in Cleveland, they hustled up more money for bus tickets and headed back. He said he'd get back with them, but never did. They spent months living on the street, constantly trying to contact Eazy-E, until they finally received a call from him. In November 1993, they bought one-way Greyhound tickets to Los Angeles determined to prove their talents to their favorite rapper, the late Eric "Eazy-E" Wright of N.W.A. Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, Wish Bone, Flesh-N-Bone and Bizzy Bone went from being broke, hungry and homeless in 1993 to watching their brand of flowing, rolling, rapid-clip, harmonized rap - dubbed the "Cleveland Sound" - hit the top of the charts. The rise of Cleveland's Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is a classic example of the American Dream, a group of five young "brothas" who had a goal and would not allow any barriers to stop from attaining this goal.