I'm Big D, from Tampa. I review Hip-Hop passionately. I hope you enjoy my work.
I'm Big D, from Tampa. I review Hip-Hop passionately. I hope you enjoy my work.
Member since:23.07.2004
Reviews:73
Members who trust:5
Bone Thugs & Harmony have always been a unique group. With their triple cadence lyricism, harmonic flows, and R&B-ish twists, they developed a small cult following in the urban areas of Cleveland, Ohio. After their demo tape Faces of Death landed in the hands of N.W.A. founder and record executive Eazy E, he sought them out and immediately signed. The first thing they put out was their incredible EP, known as Creepin on ah Come Up. With two hit-singles, even the low-amount of songs on it were enough to push tons of sales. At last, they released their debut hit album E. 1999 Eternal. Even the death of Eazy-E didnt slow down the momentum of the group as it became the most successful.
Track List & Rating
1. Da Introduction (****) 2. East 1999 (*****) 3. Eternal (****) 4. Crept And We Came (*****) 5. Down '71 (The Getaway) (*****) 6. Mr. Bill Collector (******) 7. Budsmokers Only (****) 8. Crossroads (******) 9. Me Killa (NOT RATED) 10. Land Of Tha Heartless (*****) 11. No Shorts, No Losses (****) 12. 1st Of Tha Month (******) 13. Buddah Lovaz (****) 14. Die Die Die (****) 15. Mr. Ouija 2 (NOT RATED) 16. Mo' Murda (*****) 17. Shotz To Tha Double Glock (*****)
"Da Introduction" provides a unique and bizarre way to open up E. 1999 Eternal. After a bizarre play of Bizzy Bone's verse from their previous hit "Thuggish Ruggish Bone", we get a small intro, and then the beat changes to kick off a song. Featuring a slow tempo, piano loop, Bone comes on here to show their "execution" of hip-hop in a perfect intro. Their trademark "machine-gun flow" is shown on this track at a rapid pace as Bizzy, Krayzie, and Layzie drop some ill verses. This is a great way to open the album, but some of their best
is yet to come.
The first major song, "East 1999", kicks the album off hard. Bizzy, Krayzie, Layzie, Flesh, and Wish drop their unique brand of Cleveland Street Poetry. Each member of Bone describes the street life of Cleveland in a very west-coast sounding song, but with a twist. The production itself is also west-coastish, loaded with synthesizers, a thumping bassline, giving the track a horror feel, sort of a mix between Havoc and Bomb Squad production, but provided by DJ U-Neek. The song features a rare appearance by Flesh n Bone, who rarely pops up on this album, to drop an ill verse: "Consider me heartless, oh yes Flesh be runnin' a hoe check, Betta check ya Rolex, Ya timed now fa givin' up respect, Ta them S-C-Ts from C-L-E the scandalous n*ggas that dwell, Hell offa the forscythe and bail, Leavin' ah trail ah the boody victims, The fifth dog maulin' and maulin' neva them catch me slippin', As if and if and they find, They may give me time instead ah me trippin'". A Fitting tribute to Cleveland, and there are more to come. The next track, "Eternal", is a sequel, which is basically the same sort of street narratives about Cleveland.
"Crept and We Came" returns to the gangsta, sort of murderous lyrics showcased by Bone Thugs & Harmony. The song is extremely melodic, featuring some beautiful piano melodies, along with synthesizers of course and some flutes to give the song a west-coast sound, which is typical for Bone. The track starts out slow and speeds up slowly and slowly when it comes to vocals, in which all members of Bone Thugs & Harmony deliver the goods. Each one of them raps about their arrival to the mainstream level of hip-hop and that theyve arrived to take the game with their unique style. Each member does an excellent job, giving us another classic.
"Down 71 (The Getaway)" is one of the more creative moments of the album. Basically, its a dope storytelling track with dark production. The story is told by Bone themselves as they are fined guilty of murder and sentenced to death. The story tells the tale of their getaway from the law and surviving. The jailbreak tale is perfectly narrated by Bizzy, Layzie, and Krayzie.
Another classic soon follows with the incredible "Mr. Bill Collector".
Firstly, the production is another one of those melodic Bone beats, with some xylophone, synthesized flutes, and thumping bass and claps. It is an excellent backdrop for the rapid, triple-cadence lyricism shown by Bone Thugs & Harmony. The story is an amazing street narrative where Bone Thugs & Harmony speak about the hustle of the drug game, and that if you dont pay the cash, you meet death. This unique, Cleveland-esque street poetry is only made better with actual creative subject matter, which is what they show here. Their own twist. Personally, I enjoyed Bizzy's verse the most, as he slowed the tempo of the song heavily, but provided the right atmosphere and creepiness that they were aiming for: "Sawed-off pumpin', dumpin', Steadily all the way to the other side we ride, Sherm, when I hit that corner now, n*ggas is 'bout to die, Thugsta thievin' off in Cleveland, And I couldn't sell out my ci-ty, Murder now to come up, move, Bone'll be bringin' that city, wit me pin me, N*gga, this the team, by the way, don't f*ck with brains, Put in my mind all off on my murder, Murder y'all all, and I flees the scene..."
Unarguably, the most recognizable song from Bone Thugs & Harmony's entire career has to be the hit-single "Crossroads". There isn't much to say due to the fact that im sure youve heard this saddening tribute to their fallen friends and family members in the past. Featuring a slow, almost R&Bish tempo, and beautiful lyrics, its difficult to fail. Besides those incredible pieces, the production is incredible. Featuring an unbelievable piano melody, soft chimes, and soft clap to give the song a saddening atmosphere. Lyrically, its top-notch, as you can honestly feel the deepness of each word that are rapped and sung. The tribute to death is made even better with an unbelievable, thought-provoking video which must be seen. Don't hesitate to listen to this classic.
"Land Of Tha Heartless" picks the album up again with the gangsta, dark street lyrics which we've been accustomed to.
The sheer speed of the flow and delivery must be listened to in order to be heard, and backed by excellent production, they can't go wrong. The song is blazing, as they give us vivid street narratives about violence and how it seems on the streets, nobody has a heart. With a tad bit of storytelling added in the song, its another Bone Thug Classic.
Of course, E. 1999 Eternal isn't complete without "1st of tha Month". The legendary welfare anthem which has no equal is here. Each member of Bone Thugs & Harmony drops their own view on the first of the month, the day where welfare reigns supreme. The semi-thought-provoking lyrics are dope, and im sure those on welfare can relate. This is sort of like the anti-pop song due to the fact that it glorifies poverty, which i believe is a cool thing. The overall light-hearted feel of the production and sing-songish lyricism makes this a feel-good track, which was also a hit-single.
"Mo Murda" continues the same path of dark street narratives, as this time they basically show that they are not afraid of murdering somebody. Everybody comes off with powerful vocals, sort of like speaking to fate about their lives and the fact that at times, they have no choice but to take a life for survival. The feeling of the song and the quick, triple cadence lyrics are dropped hard, and i believe that Layzie Bone comes off with the hardest, most powerful verse: "Me silence me twelve guage eruption, And I'm on a road to destruction, And steady be bustin' and bodies be bustin' me, Killa, with a buckshot, I'ma peel ya, Number one assassin's still the realer n*gga, Down for my crime, n*ggas be down tryin' to stay to tha grind, N*ggas is going insane taking a shot to the brain, and man, So call it a shame but what be the thang up offa this murda game? And I'm feelin' not a bit remorseful, My twelve guage just so forceful, So playa hate when I'm in ya town, The n*gga me bucking 'em down, And I'm giving up peace to the hustlas, Thugstas and twelve guage pumpstas, Drug 'em in gutters mo murda me style, now, Put 'em on the ground, lay down".
E. 1999 Eternal closes with the excellent "Shotz To Tha Double Glock", which is another street narrative, but i believe it should've come before the last song, due to the subject matter. However, it is a perfect close to the album.
E. 1999 Eternal is a classic album. With incredible Easy E and DJ U-Neek production, and awesome lyrics, they cant go wrong. There are no bad songs and no filler, so i do suggest picking this album up as soon as you can. There are very few groups like Bone, so why not have the best??
5 Stars
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One of the few hiphop albums where the group really managed to create an atmosphere and keep it up throughout most of their pieces + it's highly melodical without having to turn to shallow pop. Nice review!
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...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Jun 11th, 2007
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