E 1999 Eternal

1	Da Introduction 4:25
2	East 1999 4:21
3	Eternal 4:03
4	Crept and We Came 5:03
5	Down '71 (The Getaway) 4:50
6	Mr. Bill Collector 5:01
7	Budsmokers Only 3:31
8	Crossroad 3:43
9	Me Killa 0:55
10	Land of Tha Heartless 3:05
11	No Shorts, No Losses 4:52
12	1st of Tha Month 5:14
13	Buddah Lovaz 4:43
14	Die Die Die 2:52
15	Mr. Ouija 2 1:16
16	Mo' Murda 5:44
17	Shotz To Tha Double Glock 4:43

Barnes & Noble

By the mid '90s, innovation had become scarce in mainstream hip-hop. Then, practically out of nowhere (well, Cleveland), came Bone Thugs N Harmony, sporting a fluid, yet rugged, ragamuffin flow and dense, explosive sound. Their CREEPIN' AH COME UP EP became a fixture on the Billboard charts for months, but it was their self-titled full-length that really blew up, debuting at number one and--unlike many other hip-hop records--staying in the upper echelons of the charts for months. BTNH, proteges of the late Eazy E, used clean basslines and post-Dre drones as backdrops for catchy, lyrical rhymes. Focusing on the dreary, oppressive life in the inner city of a fallen industrial giant, Bone kept the story lines simple, scoring huge with the sardonic celebration "First of the Month," a tune that added another fascinating twist to Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues Make Me Wanna Holler," while proving that urban angst can be as fun as a bag of cheeba. Martin Johnson

All Music Guide

Following the surprise success of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's summer 1994 anthem "Thuggish Ruggish Bone," the group returned a year later with E 1999 Eternal, an impressive debut full-length that dismisses any notion that the group was merely a one-hit wonder. From beginning to end, the album maintains a consistent tone, one that's menacing and somber, produced entirely by DJ U-Neek, a Los Angeles-based producer who frames the songs with dark, smoked-out G-funk beats and synth melodies. The Bone Thugs interweave their voices well, trading off verses and harmonizing on the choruses. There are a few standout moments, most notably the Grammy-winning ballad "Tha Crossroads" and the feel-good welfare ode "1st of the Month," as well as, of course, some obligatory blaze-some-to-this tracks, "Budsmokers Only" and "Buddah Lovaz." The intermittent tracks are good old-fashioned gangsta rap about murder, drugs, and money. In the end, E 1999 Eternal stands as one of the most accomplished, unique hardcore rap albums of the '90s, one that's often unfairly overlooked, if not dismissed entirely, because of the group's subsequent unraveling. [The original release featured a different version of "Tha Crossroads" titled simply "Crossroad" that was quickly replaced by the radio-aired, Grammy-winning "Mo Thug" remix.] Jason Birchmeier