Name | Bone Thugs-n-Harmony |
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Background | group_or_band |
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Alias | B.O.N.E. Enterprise |
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Origin | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
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Genre | Midwest hip hop, gangsta rap, melodic hip hop, hip hop soul |
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Years active | 1991–present |
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Label | Ruthless, BTNH Worldwide,Full Surface, Geffen |
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Associated acts | Eazy-E, Bone Brothers, Mo Thugs Family, II Tru, Twista, Poetic Hustla'z, DJ U-Neek, 2Pac, Biggie |
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Current members | Krayzie Bone Layzie Bone Wish Bone Flesh-n-Bone Bizzy Bone |
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Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is a
hip hop music group, formed in
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., in 1991. It consists of rappers
Krayzie Bone,
Wish Bone,
Flesh-n-Bone,
Layzie Bone, and
Bizzy 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.
Bone Thugs released two more albums that did not generate as much hype: BTNHResurrection (2000) and Thug World Order (2002). The group went on hiatus and returned in 2007 with Strength & Loyalty, this time released by Swizz Beatz's label Full Surface Records. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony officially returned with their new album , released in 2010 by their own record label, BTNH Worldwide, with distribution by Warner Bros.
Early years
Formed in 1991, 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, added the same year, the group renamed itself Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. In November 1993, the group auditioned backstage for rapper
Eazy-E, who was performing in Cleveland with his father. After a second audition, Eazy-E signed the group to his label
Ruthless Records.
Ruthless Records
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, 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.
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.
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. Pleading guilty, Flesh-n-Bone was sentenced to 11 years in prison. 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. 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.
Thug World Order
In 2002, the group released
Thug World Order. The album debuted at #12 on the
Billboard 200,
After Ruthless
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
Uni5: The World's Enemy
video. 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.
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.
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.
Discography
1991: 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:
Awards
{| class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Award
!align="left" valign="top"|Category
!align="left" valign="top"|Song/Album
!align="left" valign="top"|Year
!align="left" valign="top"|Result
|-
|align="center" rowspan=3|
Grammy Awards
|align="left" valign="top"|"
Best Rap Album"
|align="left" valign="top"|
E. 1999 Eternal
|align="center" rowspan=2|1996
|align="left" valign="top"|Nominated
|-
|align="center" rowspan=2|"
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group"
|align="left" valign="top"|
1st of tha Month
|align="left" valign="top"|Nominated
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|Tha Crossroads
|align="left" valign="top"|1997'''
|align="left" valign="top"|Won
|-
|align="center" rowspan=4|American Music Awards
|align="left" rowspan=3|"Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist"
|align="center" rowspan=4|Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
|align="left" valign="top"|1996
|align="left" valign="top"|Nominated
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1997
|align="left" valign="top"|Nominated
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1998
|align="left" valign="top"|Won
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|"Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Band, Duo or Group"
|align="left" valign="top"|2007
|align="left" valign="top"|Won
|-
|align="center" rowspan=4|MTV Video Music Awards
|align="left" valign="top"|"Best Special Effects"
|align="left" rowspan=4|Tha Crossroads
|align="left" rowspan=4|1996
|align="left" valign="top"|Nominated
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|"Viewer's Choice"
|align="left" valign="top"|Nominated
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|"Video of the Year"
|align="left" valign="top"|Nominated
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|"Best Group Video"
|align="left" valign="top"|Nominated
|-
|}
References
14. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5NFX1CG6z4 (Studio Session of Bizzy Bone unreleased album with Papillon Bandana
Destination Ailleurs with Layzie Bone on this project)
15. http://www.amazon.com/Destination-ailleurs-Explicit/dp/B003V9AOHG/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&qid;=1294076131&sr;=8-29
External links
Official website
Official Myspace page
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's ArtistDirect page
Exclusive Interview in Complex magazine
I Tried Movie
Category:Musical groups from Cleveland, Ohio
Category:American hip hop groups
Category:Hip hop singers
Category:Culture of Cleveland, Ohio
Category:Musical groups from Ohio
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:E1 Music artists
Category:1990s music groups
Category:Ruthless Records artists
Category:Interscope Records artists
Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio