Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Thread...

[HeRBaN LyRiX]

What`s up y`all? Hope all is good, today I`ve decided to share some~what of a rarity from Cleveland, Ohio with y`all. This joint is by B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e who would later switch up their name for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony after meeting with Eazy-E & signing to his Ruthless Records label. From what I can gather this album was recorded in 1992-1993 & was released in 1993 on cassette & vinyl & then later re-released in 1995 on CD. An attempt by Stoney Burke Recordings to capitalize off of the success that Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was receiving at the time since they had released their debut EP in 1994 on Ruthless Records & it blew the fuck up! Ol` Stoney wanted a piece of that pie, ya can`t be mad at `em....LoL







For those that don`t know B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e had been doin` their thing since 1989, that`s when the group had first formed & went by the name The Band-Aid Boys. Eventually they started to take the music thing serious, this was around 1991, that`s when Krayzie Bone (Leatherface), Wi$h Bone (Strate Jacket), Bizzy Bone (Rest In Peace) & Layzie Bone (#1 Assassin) decided to scrap the group`s original name & go with B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e -- Flesh-N-Bone would join the group a few years later (an interesting thing to note, he was the only member of the group that wasn`t signed to Ruthless Records even though the rest of `em were. He was also the first member to release a solo album). With help from Kermit Henderson, Krayzie Bone`s younger brother, the group hit the studio to record what would later become "Faces Of Death", their first album. Kermit used his lil` indy label Stoney Burke Recordings to release the album to the world in 1993...







For what it is "Faces Of Death" is a decent listen, more exciting to hear if you`re a BiG Bone Thugs fan of course. What`s DoPe about it is that you can hear them formulatin` & experimentin` with their style on most of the tracks, you get to hear the origins of their trademark style on the mic. It`s also kind of cool to hear `em use some pseudo~Jamaican Patois in their delivery, something that they don`t do much of if at all any more. Their subject matter is pretty much the same as what we already know `em for; Death, violence, Weed & Alcohol (my kind of topics....LoL). Unfortunately I have no clue who handled the production duties on this album, so if anyone out there knows school me! Urban legend has it that Eazy-E was very impressed after Krayzie Bone spit his verse from "Flow Motion" to him backstage at concert in Cleveland back in 1993, so much so that he signed the group to Ruthless Records shortly after the lil` backstage audition. As impressed as he was by their harmonized styles, their group name B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e just wasn`t all that attention grabbing for Eazy. He wanted to call `em Thugs-N-Harmony because of their presence on the mic, but the group wanted to keep the "Bone" part so in the end it was added to the front of the name & Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was born...







Let`s talk about the album shall we? I`m not too sure what the reason is, but the first track "Flow Motion" is edited which kind of sucks.....LoL, don`t you worry though I was able to find an unedited version (though it`s not the best sound quality~wise) & added it to the end of the album so you can hear this joint the way it should be heard -- uncensored....LoL, following that is "Everyday Thang". Not to be confused with the song that Bone Thugs has on "The Show Soundtrack" with the same title, this song has different lyrics. Simply sayin` fuck you to track sequencing they decide to place the "Intro" as the third track which is kind of funny to me since it`s pretty DaMn iLL! All four members (Flesh-N-Bone wasn`t a part of the group yet) take turns rippin` a few bars to show the listeners what`s in store for `em. Bizzy gets extra props for predicting the future by spittin`; "Well it`s the ruthless nigga gangsta comin` out..." You see, he already knew that he was gon` be releasing ish thru Ruthless Records.....LoL







"Def Dick" has B.O.N.E. explaining to us how pussy`s like a joint, ya hit it then pass it & there`s no time for bitch~lovin` if you`re a crazy assassin......LoL, all done with a lil` hint of Jamaican Patois. "Sons Of Assassins" is on the dark side subject matter~wise -- Layzie, Krayzie & Bizzy Bone kick lyrics describin` the lives of some mentally unstable, trigger happy mu` fuckas. Just the kind of folks you hope ya` daughter brings home for the prom...LoL, continuing with the dark lyrical content B.O.N.E. hits us with "Hell Sent". The track`s lil` intro may remind you of the lil` fucked up song from one of those "A Nightmare On Elm Street" flicks;

"One-two, B.O.N.E. is coming for you!
Three-four, better lock the doors
Five-six, better load your clips
Seven-eight, we`re gonna test your fate
Nine-ten, we`re out to kill again
Straight from the burning flames of hell
A place where all assassins dwell
Put back on Earth to destroy all worshippers of peace
Body bags & caskets, may all good cease
Together they form an organization much stronger than the mafia
First, Krayzie Bone a.k.a. Leatherface The Sawed Off Gangsta
Second, Layzie Bone a.k.a. The Number One Assassin
Third, Bizzy Bone a.k.a. Rest In Peace
Fourth, Wi$h Bone a.k.a. Strate Jacket nigga..."


After the lil` visit to Hell Layzie Bone gets his solo~shine on & hits us with "#1 Assassin". Next is "We Be Fiendin`", a short lil` ode to Marijuana with a lil` Reggae~vibe to it. After the smokin` session`s done we`re hit with a drinkin` anthem of sorts with "Bless Da 40 oz.". I couldn`t help but think of Slick Rick`s "La Di Da Di" after I heard Layzie kick the hook on this track;

"It`s all because of brew
I`m feelin` fresh & new
I bless a 40 a day
So now I never have to have another sober day
When blessin` 40`s I`m a pro
I just thought I`d let you know
You can`t take my brew away from me..."

The album closes off with "Ganksta Attitude", all four members flex some G~ism just in case we forgot how gangsta they really are....LoL, all jokes aside y`all the album`s a decent listen so go `head & check it out for ya`self...






B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e a.k.a. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Faces Of Death
Label: Stoney Burke Recordings
Released: 1993 & 1995



1. Flow Motion [Radio]
2. Everyday Thang
3. Intro
4. Def Dick
5. Sons Of Assassins
6. Hell Sent
7. #1 Assassin
8. We Be Fiendin`
9. Bless Da 40 oz.
10. Ganksta Attitude
11. Flow Motion [Unedited] -- (Bonus Joint)







FiLeSWaP BaCK-uP LiNK...












N`JoY...

[Echo Leader]

Ha, this is cool. Thanks for the write-up HL, that was a good read.

You're totally right, as far as Faces of Death being little more than a footnote for anyone who's not a HUGE Bone Thugs-N-Harmony fan. I was a big fan of the E. 1999 Eternal album (but not much else); everything, from the beats to the rhymes to the occult vibe was just so dope to me. It's a personal classic and has gotten much burn from me over many many years. As a young'un the voodoo/occult shit on the cd itself had me



When I first got a laptop and a decent internet connection, one of the first things I downloaded on Limewire was this mysterious Bone Thugs album called Faces of Death. Didn't know anything about it until I googled and was super amped when I found out that it was their demo tape. Then I listened and was so disappointed. I thought it was unbelievably wack. The cool thing about their demo is that you get to see an early sketch of BTNH and that's something, I guess. It's interesting to listen to where these guys came from, but they were so much better post-Faces.

[bbatson1]

thanks. I've heard about half of this. It's interesting.

I also saw something a few weeks ago about Bone releasing some type of lost tapes album with a few cuts off e 1999

[HeRBaN LyRiX]

Ha, this is cool. Thanks for the write-up HL, that was a good read...

No probs homie, glad you enjoyed it. I hear you `bout the album, it`s cool for what it is but it`s definitely not anything super~spectacular that I`d write to my wife about....LoL, they definitely had a spiritual vibe to `em though, check out this interesting ish I read from a blog that has been long Elvis`D. Someone smoked a few blunts & just zoned out to their "E. 1999 Eternal" album cover...LoL

"Bone gotta be some of the most spiritual rappers I know of. The average listener/fan may not realise it, but these niggaz is deep. Take the album images in the booklet for example. Here's some shit y'all may not even know or have noticed before.

There are a few differences in the art on the actual CD between releases. Newer versions of the second release [e.g. the one containing Tha Crossroads] have a different pattern on the CD bearing the number 9 [or 6] on the CD eight times. There are also several symbols appearing on it resembling characters in the Hindi alphabet. If you look carefully at the cover art, there is a figure in one of the building windows wearing sunglasses, likely representative of Eazy-E. Inside the cover, in white letters on a black field, are the words 'Eric Wright RIP 11523'. This appears on several other albums, including posthumously released Eazy-E albums. '11523' is the number of days Eazy spent on earth [approximately 31 and a half years]. One page in the leaflet contains a message written backwards [mirror image] with all the words run together.
E.1999 Eternal St.
Cleveland, OH. 00999
1-900-622-6636 ext. 8
There is no such address as E. 1999 Eternal St., nor is 00999 Cleveland's zip code. The phone number [1-900-62BONE6] was their fan club number at the time of the album's release. The opening line, 'I found myself without morals…' appears on the posthumous Eazy-E album, Str8 Off Tha Streetz Of Muthaphukkin' Compton, on the inside of the insert behind the CD, written on one of the folds.

There is a map featured in the leaflet, though it does not correspond to any real place. The names on the map are all relatively significant:
• National Ave. comes after 665th Ave., making it 666th Ave.
• Cleveland Blvd.
• Wallace Drive - Reference to Wallace [Wally] Laird III, who died and was paid tribute in Crossroad and Tha Crossroads.
• E. 1999 - Comes after E. 99th Street and is the name of the album.
• Eternal - Name of the album.
• 1st Street - Possible reference to 1st Of Tha Month.
• Heller Drive - Jerry Heller founded Ruthless Records with Eazy-E.
• N. Eazy Street / S. Eazy Street - Reference to Eazy-E.
• Selthur St. - Ruthles[s] backwards, e.g., Ruthless Records.
• Wrightwoods Dr. - Eazy-E's real name is Eric Wright.
• Young Street - Dr. Dre's real name is Andre Young [he was a member of N.W.A. with Eazy-E].
• O' Shea Avenue - Ice Cube's real name is O'Shea Jackson [he was a member of N.W.A. with Eazy-E].
• W. Compton Blvd. / E. Compton Blvd. - Reference to Compton, California, where Eazy-E hailed from.
• Crenshaw Blvd. - Street in Los Angeles, California.

In conjunction with the backwards Ouija Curse, one can follow the map. The directions are as follows:
'I FOUND MYSELF WITHOUT MORALS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN' Start at the X. [X marks the spot] It is on S. Eazy Street--Eazy started Bone's career.
'LOOKING ON THE PLACE WHERE WE ALL WANT TO LIVE' Face Eternal [we all want to live eternally]. This could also be interpretted as meaning 'we all want to live on easy street', thus you look down S. Eazy Street.
'I STOPPED TO SEE FOREVER NOT WANTING TO SEE WRONG I CONTINUED' Travel to Eternal [for ever], and turn right [opposite of wrong]. Symbol here: B.
'I CONTINUED I STOPPED NOT RIGHTLY TO CLAIR MY HEAD FOR A MOMENT' Stop at St. Clair Street ['clair my head']. Turn left ['not rightly']. Symbol here: 1.
'AND TRAVELED ON THREE WEEKS' Go up three streets to E.98th Street. Symbol here: D.
'AT THE THIRD WEEK I LOOKED TO MY HEART TO SEE LOVE' Face left towards the heart symbol on the map. Another interpretation is to face your heart, which in the human body is on the left side.
'AND SO I FOLLOWED SO MANY BATTLES I FOUGHT PAIN IN MY LEFT HAND LOOKING FOR PEACE IN MY RIGHT EXTENDED OUT' Travel down E.98th Street till you get to Truce Blvd. [peace]. Symbol here: E.
'I HAVE WALKED AWAY FROM MY HEART AND CROSSED THE LAST DAY' Follow up Truce across E.1999 [the last day]. You are walking right, which would be away from your heart [which is on your left in your body]. Symbol here: M.
'I LOOKED RIGHT INTO THE VALLEY OF EVIL' Turn right on Valley Blvd. Symbol here: 0.
'AND FOUND THE HOME OF THE BEAST TO NO MY ENEMY' Go down Valley Blvd until National Ave. [which would be 666th Avenue, and 666 being the sign of the devil, National Ave. would be the home of the beast]. Symbol here: N.
'I HAVE DONE WRONG THROUGH TO THE LAND OF THE HEARTLES' Turn left [wrong, not right] on National Ave. to the 'land of the heartles[s]', which is a term Bone uses for Cleveland, e.g. Cleveland Blvd. Symbol here: R.
'I CAN DO WRONG NO MORE' Turn right at Cleveland Blvd. [don't do wrong, do right].
'I SEE THE DEVIL AND HE BINDS ME BUT ARENT DEVILS MERELY ANGELS TEARING AWAY YOUR GUILT' You would see the Devil in his home, Hell. Turn down Heller Drive. Symbol here: 4.
'I STOPPED ON THE LAST DAY OF THE LAST MONTH OF THE LAST YEAR' Travel down to E. 1999 [the last day of the last month of the last year, at least in some Apocalyptic beliefs]. Symbol here: 1.
'AGAIN I HAV FOUND MY HEART MY LIFE MUST BE RIGHTEOUS AND A PLACE UNKNOWN SO I CAN REST MY SOUL WHERE IT ALL BEGAN' Look to your left [your heart is on your left]. There is an arrow pointing down to E.98th Street. Travel on to that street, which is also known at Wrightwoods Dr. Wright is a play on words of righteous. There is a ? at the area of the map where you now find yourself: a place unknown. Wright is Eazy-E's real last name [Eric Wright], thus, you rest your soul where it all began, with Eazy-E.
The symbols, in order of appearance, [and excluding the 'x' in the beginning] are: B 1 D E M 0 N R 4 1. Each of these letters corresponds to a key on a telephone. The code spells out a phone number, 213-360-6741, which at one time may have greeted callers with a special message.
• Behind the CD in the jewel case is an image of the group with an overlay of a circular pattern flanked by skeletal hands in the corners. The image is representative of a Ouija board, with the words 'Invoke' and 'Suppress' found around the circle and one hand possessing a very long index finger extending into a smaller circle, probably representting the planchette [pointter] used in spelling out words on a Ouija board. Written along the left and right folds of this insert [one what is the opposite side of the long, thin edge of the CD where the album name and artist are usually printted] are the following: 'Don't Give Props To The Devil' [left] and 'Believe in the Last Day' [right]. This style of hidden text is repeatted on Eazy-E's posthumous album, Str8 Off Tha Streetz Of Muthaphukkin' Compton, which bears the phrases: 'Thou shalt not kill' and 'You find yourself without morals'.
• If you look closely at the album cover, you will see Eazy-E three windows above Bizzy Bone.

As if all that isn't enough, here are a few other facts about this album:
• In Da Introduction, the first part of the song contains a recording played backwards. This segment is part of Bizzy's verse from the song Thuggish Ruggish Bone off of the Creepin' On Ah Come Up album. It contains the following:
[Shatasha Williams]: It's the thuggish ruggish Bone…
[Bizzy Bone]: Gotta give it on up to the Glock Glock, pop pop, better drop when them buckshot blow. The Bone in me never no ho', so, no creepin' up outta the ziplock. So, Sin, sip gin, and Lil' Mo! Heart run up, nut up, and flipped in, then slipped in the clip then, that's takin' the bloody victims. Ever if ya test nuts--
• The track Mr Ouija 2 also contains a backwards message. It says: '…Wish Bone, and Flesh. They came here from Cleveland, Ohio, on a bus. They met Eazy-E in Los Angeles. Eazy had to listen to their music or send them staight back to Ohio. Well, the playas in Bone Thugs-N-Harmony--'
• The title of the song Down '71 (The Getaway) refers to Interstate '71, a large and highly-travelled highway that runs through most of Ohio and the centre of Cleveland.
• The Australian release of this album also contained a bonus disc of their debut EP Creepin' On Ah Come Up.
• This album was released twice. The original version contained the song Crossroad [track 8]. After the death of Eazy-E, Bone remade the song as Tha Crossroads (DJ U-Neek's Mo' Thug Remix) and re-released the album [featureing the new single at track 8]. At some retailers the re-release bore a sticker reading 'Includes the bomb hit: Tha Crossroads!' However, the clean version holds the original version titled as the remix, whilst the explicit version bears the more famous version.

Not surprisingly, there are about an album's worth of unreleased tracks that still haven't seen the light of day as of now. These include:
• Gangsta Street [featuring Gangsta Dresta]
• Artillery Shop
• `Cuz We Eazy
• Down '71 (The Getaway) [Pre-Release]
• Tha Crossroads (Remix) [featuring Flesh-N-Bone]
• Sleepwalkers [featuring Eazy-E]
• Mr Bill Collector (Original Version) [featuring Eazy-E]
• Land Of Tha Heartless (Original Version) [featuring Flesh-N-Bone]
• Strictly For My Grind [Originally to feature Eazy-E, but he died before the track was finished]"










1

[Echo Leader]

AWESOME.

[dochiphop]

yo good write up and read here HL... interesting stuff. I agree about Faces Of Death too. I was hyped when it first dropped cuz I was a BONE fan but it never really got much play in my world and the album never grew on me too much either. Good nostalgic info u gave us though. Thanks alot!

[DJCommunist]

thanks for the insightful write up and the album, cant wait to listen to this

[HeRBaN LyRiX]

thanks. I've heard about half of this. It's interesting.

I also saw something a few weeks ago about Bone releasing some type of lost tapes album with a few cuts off e 1999

Hopin` these joints will be on it...


Not surprisingly, there are about an album's worth of unreleased tracks that still haven't seen the light of day as of now. These include:

• Gangsta Street [featuring Gangsta Dresta]
• Artillery Shop
• `Cuz We Eazy
• Down '71 (The Getaway) [Pre-Release]
• Tha Crossroads (Remix) [featuring Flesh-N-Bone]
• Sleepwalkers [featuring Eazy-E]
• Mr Bill Collector (Original Version) [featuring Eazy-E]
• Land Of Tha Heartless (Original Version) [featuring Flesh-N-Bone]
• Strictly For My Grind [Originally to feature Eazy-E, but he died before the track was finished]

yo good write up and read here HL... interesting stuff. I agree about Faces Of Death too. I was hyped when it first dropped cuz I was a BONE fan but it never really got much play in my world and the album never grew on me too much either. Good nostalgic info u gave us though. Thanks alot!

thanks for the insightful write up and the album, cant wait to listen to this

Glad you enjoyed the read homies, just found the info` interesting myself so I figured it was worth sharing ...







1

[HeRBaN LyRiX]

Takin` it back to 1994 for your listening pleasure today, this EP is Bone Thugs-N-Harmony`s first release after they signed with Eazy-E`s Ruthless Records & revamped their name (changed from Bone Enterpri$e to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony). What we get is 6 actual songs, an Intro & an Instrumental -- what more do you expect for an EP?....LoL, anyway the production is handled by DJ U-Neek, DJ Yella, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony & Eazy-E even steps up to help produce the EP`s Intro (along with DJ Yella). The features are kept to a minimum & come from Eazy-E & Shatasha Williams (I believe she was a member of Mo Thugs)...



"Thuggish Ruggish Bone" was the EP`s lead single, it did pretty well on the Billboard Charts. "Foe Tha Love Of $" was the EP`s second single & it features the late & great Eazy-E. Something interesting to mention about "Foe Tha Love Of $", it shares the same beat as a song from 1991 by Yomo & Maulkie (another group signed to Ruthless Records) off their debut album titled "Are U Xperienced?" (The song`s titled "For The Love Of Money", what a surprise....LoL), I believe that DJ Yella also produced the track. Guess he felt that Yomo & Maulkie didn`t rock it right......LoL, either way I`m glad he gave it to the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony `cuz they ended up droppin` a great song with their version of the track...



On the "Intro" Eazy-E opens up the EP by introducing the World to the group newly signed (at the time) to his Ruthless Records label over a slowed down but sinister beat that includes gun shot samples while Eazy-E`s voice itself is also slowed down to give it an almost demonic sound. "Mr. Oujia" (misspelled on the album`s back cover art as "Mr. Quija") is a short lil` interlude of sorts that has Bone Thugs harmonizin` over no beat but the cold winds blowin`. Chantin`, "Ouija are you with me? I want to know my future. Will I die a bloody murda?" It`s kind of creepy, but it definitely does help set a darker tone for the rest of the EP. The lead single "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" is the track that really started the spark for Bone Thugs. It`s a straight CLaSSiC; the DJ U-Neek produced beat, the hook sung beautifully by Shatasha Williams & then there`s the verses from Bone themselves. You definitely get to hear how each member of the group compliments the next member`s style...




DL Music Video Here (Fileswap)...
DL Music Video Here (MediaFire)...



"No Surrender" follows (some of y`all may have also heard this joint on the compilation album "One Million Strong"), it`s another DoPe production by DJ U-Neek. Bone Thugs ride this one really well, the synthed out vocals on the hook are pretty iLL too. Rhythm D provides a nice dark, creepin` up on your enemies type beat with it`s nice trunk rattlin` bassline on "Down Foe My Thang" while the Thugs-N-Harmony flex rapid~fire flows. The EP`s title track "Creepin` On Ah Come Up" is next & it`s produced by DJ U-Neek, with it`s mellowed out beat Bone Thugs plot & scheme about how`s they`re gon` get that ca$h. The second single off the EP, "Foe Tha Love Of $" follows & it features a guest appearance from Eazy-E. As mentioned before the track`s produced by DJ Yella while the Thugs-N-Harmony deliver some of their more memorable verses over the beat. The instrumental for "Foe Tha Love Of $" closes out the EP (actually titled "Moe Cheeze") but it`s got a lil` extra done to the beat with a woman moanin` on a sexual tip & then some piano keys are also added to the mix. So there ya have it go `head & check out the music, oh yeah the music videos are in mp4 file so ya should be able to watch `em on your i-Pods...





DL Music Video Here (Fileswap)...
DL Music Video Here (MediaFire)...





Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Creepin` On Ah Come Up EP
Label: Ruthless Records
Released: 1994



1. Intro {ft. Eazy-E} [Prod. by Eazy-E & DJ Yella]
2. Mr. Quija [Prod. by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony]
3. Thuggish Ruggish Bone {ft. Shatasha Williams} [Prod. by DJ U-Neek]
4. No Surrender [Prod. by DJ U-Neek]
5. Down Foe My Thang [Prod. by Rhythm D]
6. Creepin` On Ah Come Up [Prod. by DJ U-Neek]
7. Foe Tha Love Of $ {ft. Eazy-E} [Prod. by DJ Yella]
8. Moe Cheeze [Instrumental] [Prod. by DJ Yella]






FiLeSWaP BaCK~uP LiNK...











R.i.P. EaZy-E...

[The Afronaut]

Nice work HL.