Right, this is the second review I am doing on a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony album.
Bone Thugs are a rap group from Cleveland that have been making music for about 10 years. The first album they made was called Faces Of Death, but is not considered their first proper album since they made it as a white label album and had not been signed by their record label as yet.
In 1993, they found out rapper Eazy-E (from the rap group NWA) was performing on tour. They wanted to be noticed and so sneaked backstage at one of his shows. He saw them and asked them to perform to him. He signed them immediately. Then came the first properly produced album, Creepin' on ah come up. Eazy-E's prduction added a new touch to Bone's music and the results were breathtaking. This was only 30 minutes long though and so was more like a taster album.
E.1999 Eternal had been by 1995 but then came the unexpected. Bone's producer and mentor, Eazy-E died suddenly died of AIDs related problems. This was a huge shock to Bone, but they still had to release the hugely awaited
first full-length album.
They decided to make a tribute to Eazy. This came about in the huge hit "tha crossroads". It went straight to number 1 on the Billboard top 100 chart and took Bone to new found fame. They carved a niche for themseves in an industry where new rap artists were only copying what other artists and rap groups had already done.
Anyway, the album was a huge success, partly because of the amazing "crossroads" tribute to Eazy-E. Even people who have not heard much of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony seem to know about the crossroads. It has been recently covered by the "Blazin Squad" in a UK Urban music theme. Anyway, this album was a milestone for Bone, being their first full length, commercial album, and of course, being such a success.
Ah yes, and for people who are wondering why the album is called E1999 Eternal when it was made in '95, there is a reason behind this. It is not referring to the year; a lot of rappers like to refer to the place they are from (their roots). Bone Thugs are from Cleveland, where the area is known as East '99.
Track Analysis:
1. Da Introduction - I was baffled by this track because I can usually understand Bone; there is a rap verse in the chorus which I couldn't understand. It turns out that they had taken a verse from a track in their previous album, and reversed some of the vocals. It sounds really good! The track starts with some talking and background noise, then goes into some rapping with spooky backing music.
2. East 1999 - This is a track talking about the old days and how life was when they lived in Cleveland. Nice beat and bassline.
3. Eternal - Mellow music, turns into faster beat and heavy bass. Talking about the old days again.
4. Crept and we came - This has got really cool music. Really good bassline. I really like the vocals in the chorus, especially halfway through the track when it sounds like its ending, and then it comes back in, sounding better. The rapping is quite...rhythmic.
5. Down '71 (Tha Getaway) - Slow beat. Heavy bass. Talking about when one of the members was taken to court.
6. Mr Bill Collector - Right, this is just about one of the members being a "landlord" and collecting money from his "tenants"...as weird as it sounds!
7. Budsmokers only - Slow smooth track with cool rapping.
8. Tha Crossroads - I've already told you about this. Amazing track. Most people tend to like it. Great Lyrics.
9. Me Killa - This is an interlude and includes them all singing.
10. Land of the Heartless - This is what they call Cleveland for some reason. Anyway, the track is quite fast and sounds good. Nice rapping and cool music.
11. No Shorts, No Losses - Complex beat. Heavy bass. Mellow chorus.
12. 1st of the month - Released along with "tha crossroads". A summer track. Nice beat and music and cool rapping.
13. Buddah Lovaz - Sleeping track! Very calm and relaxing slow rapping and singing.
14. Die Die Die - Im sure you can guess what this is about. It's probably the only track on the album I don't like. The music and rapping don't sound too good.
15. Mr Quija 2 - The follow up to Mr Quija, from their previous album. Just an interlude with them singing.
16. Mo Murda - This track has nice music and weird vocals, but cool rapping. Nice track, despite the name.
17. Shotz to tha double glock - Sounds boring to start with. Scary track after that. Beat comes in and out. Music is freaky.
Im saying it now...I wouldn't recommend this album to everyone. Bone Thugs are an aquired tastes and only some people like the style. I do but you might not. Thanx for reading this anyway.
Look out for more to come......
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
yeah man, nice one! bone thugs kick fuc*ing ass!! great muzik and amazin lyrics, i hav like most of this album, (im actually listinin to one of em now!) but yeah good review man! im gonna make one of my own, in a while... j
Donnie_Brasco 25.04.2004 00:01
I liked their stuff when they first came out but then found it to be quite repetitive and the tracks sounded similar. Their style was unique though and crossroads was a great track.
stitch1969 22.04.2004 08:59
I loved their crossroads single (I hope that's what it is called). Great op. Karen xxx
Da introduction East 1999 Eternal Crept and we came down '71 (the getaway) Mr Bill ... more
Collector Budsmokers only Crossroads Me killa Land of the heartless No shorts no losses First of the month Budds lovaz Die die die Mr Ouija 2 Mo murda Shots to the doubl...
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