With a distinct sense of melody and a fast, occasionally sung delivery, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony emerged from Cleveland, Ohio in the mid-1990s with two huge hits (“Thuggish Ruggish Bone” and “Tha Crossroads”), an excellent debut album, and a successful follow-up, before their rapid disintegration.
With a distinct sense of melody and a fast, occasionally sung delivery, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony emerged from Cleveland, Ohio in the mid-1990s with two huge hits (“Thuggish Ruggish Bone” and “Tha Crossroads”), an excellent debut album, and a successful follow-up, before their rapid disintegration. The group saw a number of lineup changes and a decline in mainstream popularity around the end of the 1990s, but they continued to put out new music through mixtapes and CDs throughout the 2000s.
Sneaking up on a Come Up
The group, which at first consisted of Krayzie Bone, Wish Bone, Flesh-N-Bone, Layzie Bone, and Bizzy Bone, was signed to Ruthless Records by N.W.A.’s Eazy-E. Creepin on ah Come Up, an EP, was Bone’s first release (1994). “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” a traditional G-funk track featuring an unusual lineup of Bone Thug rappers, was the EP’s standout track and quickly became a summertime classic, particularly in the Midwest. The song entered the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at position 22.
E 1999 Infinite
In the midst of the frenzy, the band went back into the studio right away and came out with an incredible album, E 1999 Eternal (1995). The album became the number one album on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It also produced two hit songs, “1st of the Month” and “Tha Crossroads,” the latter of which was a Grammy Award winner and a tribute to the late Eazy-E. The members of the group went on to explore individual careers and a Mo Thugs Family spinoff group, as was popular at the time; however, none of these endeavors were as successful as the appropriate Bone undertakings.
The Warfare Craft
At this moment, the formerly unified group—which was known for its intricate, melodic rapping and singing—became divided, and its members were unable to work well together. Their ambitious double-disc set, Art of War (1997), their second album, was a huge hit. Lead single “Look into My Eyes” not only reached the Top Five on the Hot 100, but it also peaked at the top of the same Billboard charts as E 1999 Eternal. It was certified quadruple platinum for sales of over four million units in the United States within a year of its release.
BTNHResurrection
After a string of badly received solo albums, Bone swiftly vanished from the public eye. There were occasional moments of greatness from reunions like BTNHResurrection in 2000 and Thug World Order in 2002, but these were few and far between. When Thug Stories was released on Koch in 2006, the group—which consisted of just Bizzy at the time—was able to secure a spot in the Top 30 of the Billboard 200. After that, Bone signed with Swizz Beatz’s Interscope-affiliated boutique label Full Surface, under which the 2007 album Strength & Loyalty was released. The Game, Mariah Carey, Akon, Bow Wow, and Twista were able to make cameo appearances because to a major-label budget; the album eventually sold over 500,000 copies and was certified gold.
Uni5: The Global Opponent
In 2010 Bizzy made a comeback with Uni5: The World’s Enemy. The album made its Billboard 200 debut at position 14. With the exception of a few gigs, Bizzy did not participate in the album’s promotional tour. When Art of War: WWIII was released in 2013, he made a comeback, although this time Wish Bone and Krayzie were not part of the group since they were both pursuing individual endeavors. Under the moniker Bone Thugs, Krayzie and Bizzy disclosed in 2017 that they were recording a duet album titled New Waves. They released a song, “Coming Home,” including guest appearance by reggae musician Stephen Marley, ahead of the album’s release.
