"We don't claim to be gangster," Krazie Bone says. "Cause gangsters get caught up," says his partner Wish Bone. Together along with Lazy Bone, Bizzy Bone and Flesh N' Bone they call themselves Thugs N' Harmony. Thugs stands for Trues Housing UnderGround Shit. Trues referring to being true -- true to themselves, true to each other, true to the street; Harmony referring to their harmony in music and in life. The duality is what makes them, and their debut Ruthless/Relativity LP, Creepin' On Ah Come Up, unique. To generalize, Bone is reality rap and street corner harmony combined. They rap and sing about stealin', hustlin' and scraping to get by. Their style is a mixture of that thug roughness and their street resourcefulness. They sing, but not the average love songs -- they harmonize about everyday street life and their surroundings. Together with staccato freestyle rhymes, the result is a funky strain of hardcore hip-hop. Backed by a characteristic thick Compton flow -- produced by Eazy-E, DJ Uneek, Rhythm D, Yella and Bone -- their music is intoxicating. The group hails from Cleveland, Ohio -- one of the funkiest states in the Union (home of The Ohio Players and Parliament). "We're from St. Claire, East 99th," says Krayzie. "We intend to put Cleveland on the map." However, the knew they'd have to leave Cleveland to find their success. Six months ago they got up enough money for one way bus tickets to L.A. Then they came looking for Eazy-E. Upon arriving in L.A., they spoke to Eazy and rapped for him over the phone. When they found out he was doing a Cleveland show, they were intent on getting back home in time to meet him. Through various connections, they got back stage at Eazy-E's Cleveland show. "Our main mission was to go down there and get to Eazy-E," says Krayzie. After hanging back stage only a few months ago, Bone has been down with him since. "Eazy's shown us much love since we've been here," says Wish. Exhausting their limited resources, they exhibit the confidence that they would succeed. Like most groups, their love for rap and hip-hop stems from way back." - Press Kit, 1994. Revisit the BTNH LP below...
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