BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY CREEPING ON A COME UP Cleveland's Bone Thugs-N-Harmony were one of the hip hop supergroup of the '90s. Now the mysterious posse, who last ventured out with 2006's lowkey 'Thug Stories', are staging a timely comeback. As with the Wu-Tang Clan, Bone command a cult following. And while others have emulated their hermetic style, none have done so convincingly. "A lot of people have tried to do it, but they can't do it exactly how we have done it," affirms Krayzie Bone of their ghetto doo-wop. "We've been able to keep that uniqueness that no other group could capture, no other artist, no matter how much they try to do what we do. Nobody could capture it the way Bone Thugs-N-Harmony put it down." "When Bone Thugs-N-Harmony first came out, whatever was going on at that time, we made everybody stop doing that and come over to what we were doing, so that's our main mission - to make everybody stop all over again and bring their attention back over this way." Bone's genesis is the stuff of hip hop legend. The group was conceived by childhood companions who assumed the collective surname 'Bone' - Anthony Henderson became 'Krayzie Bone', Steve Howse adopted 'Layzie Bone', Byron McCane selected 'Wish Bone', and Charles Scruggs 'Bizzy Bone'. The group circulated an indie album in the early '90s but were determined to sign to Eazy-E's then dominant Ruthless Records. In 1993 they jumped on a Greyhound bus, bound for Los Angeles, in search of their hero. Bone eventually auditioned for Ruthless over the telephone but it was only when Eazy met them back in Ohio that they struck a deal. Tragically, Eazy-E succumbed to AIDS soon after. Bone named their monumental LP 'E 1999 Eternal' for him, with the Grammy-winning 'Tha Crossroads' an evocative elegy. Since that commercial heyday in the mid 90s, the group have gone through their fair share of dramas. They were forced to boot Bizzy from the group due to his increasingly erratic behaviour (and reputed addictions) and so Flesh-N-Bone came more to the fore. To add to their woes, Flesh then copped a bid on gun charges - he's currently awaiting parole. Bone's recent album, 'Thug Stories' - marketed by Koch - was their first as a trio. Despite all this, the group has never been as focused. Newly aligned with Interscope, Bone are "winding down" their next opus, 'Strength & Loyalty'. Beatmakers as diverse as Timbaland, Kanye West and Will.I.Am are attached to the project. Bone's latest single, 'I Tried', features Akon. Krayzie, who's stayed busy with countless cameos, is quietly confident. Cyclone Bone Thugs will be appearing alongside Kurupt as part of the America's Most Wanted tour, Wednesday February 21 at Mercury Nightclub. back to top ^

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