E. 1999 Eternal
From left to right: Flesh, Bizzie, Layzie, Wish, Krayzie.
The Midwest hip-hop masterpiece turned 30 in 2025.
The end of the calendar year always gives me a little time to catch up on things: TV shows, a movie or two, some reading and writing. The end of the year also allows me some time to review the past eleven months and take stock of the year that was another in my blessed life. This time around, among the many things that transpired over the year, I realized that I missed some anniversaries and thus the opportunity to celebrate some works that I once cherished.
In this particular Year-end Dump, I make up for the missed 30th anniversary of not just one of my favorite all-time albums, but one of the monumental moments in hip-hop history that introduced a new sound and style that shifted some of the attention away from both coasts and the rising Dirty South.
1995 was a big year for hip-hop. Genre titans, like 2Pac, AZ, E-40, Cypress Hill, LL Cool J and one quarter of the Wu-Tang Clan released albums. Some newcomer named Coolio went multiplatinum. Goodie Mob dropped Soul Food and Mobb Deep dropped The Infamous. The Pharcyde were back. The 90s were peak for rap music, as the culture burst into new directions of creativity. Dr. Dre, Deathrow Records, and West Coast G-Funk were for the party. Biggie, Smif-N-Wessun, and Nas were for the streets. OutKast hadn’t quite found their footing yet, and Master P was two years away from making us all say Uhhhhh (nah nah nah nah). There was a lot of magic swirling around rap music, and some of it pouring right out of the darkest corners of Cleveland, Ohio city streets.
Leading up to the production and release of E. 1999 Eternal, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (Layzie, Krayzie, Bizzie, Wish, and Flesh) were vibing off the success of their debut EP, Creepin on ah Come Up. That album had earned them a certified smash hit with “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” a track so hard your neck will snap from its thump. Critics of Bone Thugs tried to write them off as a gimmick because of their innovative rapping style; they hit you with rapid fire rhymes and a triplet-based flow that they layered with harmonies. I know this sounds like some sweet shit, but their lyrics often incorporated violence and occult themes, which was another point of criticism rap snobs had about this group. None of this deterred Bone Thugs. They moved into a mansion in Chatsworth, California and began working with Eazy-E on production for E. 1999. Eazy was desperate to make this record a success because the survival of his record label, Ruthless Records, depended on it. However, he would not live to see the album’s release on July 25, 1995, because he would pass away from complications of AIDS on March 26th of that very same year. Eazy’s death threw the production of E. 1999 into chaos, but the steady hand of the album’s producer, DJ U-Neek, and the group’s determination to reshape the album’s themes and honor their dead mentor carried the project to the finish line.
The result is an album that successfully bridged the gap between Dre’s polished G-Funk and the gritty, lyric-heavy boom-bap rap of East Coast emcees. DJ U-Neek crafted beats that that thumped like G-Funk but were darker and haunting. Reversed samples and heavy basslines created the perfect atmosphere for Bone Thugs to amplify the horrors they witnessed (and maybe perpetrated) on Cleveland’s streets.
Favorite Tracks
E. 1999 Eternal is an all-time classic. It is a seamless production that moves from track to track with the flow of an hour-long movie instead of a 16-track playlist that sounds like a collection of singles. Thematically, Bone continued with their occult references, specifically the Ouija board. Tracks like “Mr. Ouija 2,” “Mo’ Murda,” and “Die, Die, Die” deal heavy in supernatural content and, of course, murder. Bone Thugs function like mediums on these songs, emphasizing the group’s fascination with the intersection of occult and street aesthetics. E. 1999 isn’t just about darkness and death; Bone Thugs also gave us songs that celebrate occasions (“1st of Tha Month”) and the memories of their loved ones who had passed on (“Tha Crossroads”). They even showed love to their main girl, MaryJane, in “Budsmokers Only” and “Buddah Lovaz”. They weren’t all death and murder.
With an album full of bangers, like E. 1999, it was easy to pull five tracks that resonate with your boy more than the others.
“Da Introduction”
Now you fuckin’ with these
Thuggish killas, creepin’ up outta
The Land, and ready to ride
Getting’ high of Thai, my niggas in the
Land got glocks for days on the 9-9
The vibe is ominous and foreboding. Then it transforms into a laidback jam about how the clique rolls through the Land. The mo’ murda all day and supernatural aura are major themes on this album.
“East 1999”
Thinkin’ ‘bout back in the
days when the year was ‘89
Little nigga on the grind,
Gotta get mine, doin’ crime
With two in here, steady stackin’ my ends
Put my serve down on the Clair 9-9
This is the hardest beat on the album, and it’s the official Bone Thugs anthem. It is the sound of menace, and then they sing you right off the track with a harmonized taunt.
“Tha Crossroads”
God bless you workin’ on a plan to Heaven
In front of the Lord, all 24-7 days
God is who we praise, even
Though the Devil’s all up in my face
But He keepin’ me safe and in my place
Ah, yes. This is one of the great contradictions often heard in rap music. For the entire album, Bone is living a sinful life of drug using and murdering. Then, they give us “Tha Crossroads”. This contradiction speaks to the great struggle we all endure. It’s the call to follow the light through the darkness.
The world discovered Bone with this song, and they probably hate playing it, but it’s a sentimental earworm.
“1st of Tha Month”
We got the weed to get P-O-
D’d, fiend for the green leaves
Double up for the first, fo’ sho’
Better lay low, ‘cause the po-
po creep when they roll slow
“Tha Crossroads” is a celebration of the memories of loved ones lost. “1st of Tha Month” is a celebration of payday and all the good times that can be had with a little money in Bone Thugs’ pockets.
