N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN are the #DrinkChamps. In this episode, we chop it up with the one and only #KrayzieBone!
A member of the legendary group #BoneThugsnHarmony, the immortal thugs have sold over 50 million albums worldwide and is the only group to have worked with Eazy-E, 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G. and Big Pun while they were still alive.
Krayzie shares the origin story of Bone Thugs, talks growing up in Cleveland, working with Eazy-E and Mariah Carey, Mo Thugs, the Illuminati and much, much more!
Eazy-E’s daughter, Ebie, and her mother, Tracy Jernagin, continue to examine his death by taking a closer look at Eazy’s notorious rivalry with Suge Knight; they also explore the theory that he may have been injected with HIV.
The Notorious B.I.G. was made a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame tonight during an induction ceremony broadcast on HBO. Biggie Smalls was inducted by Diddy, who signed the rapper to the then-fledgling Bad Boy Records in 1993, and was also honored by JAY-Z, Nas, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, in addition to his family: his mother Voletta Wallace, daughter Tyanna Wallace, and son C.J. Wallace.
“Big just wanted to be biggest, he wanted to be the best, he wanted to have influence and impact people in a positive way, and that clearly has been done all over the world,” Diddy said. “Nobody has come close to the way Biggie sounds, to the way he raps, to the frequency that he hits. Tonight we are inducting the greatest rapper of all time into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Notorious B.I.G. representing Brooklyn, New York, we up in here!”
Nas discussed how Biggie opened doors for New York rappers. “Rap music is all about who’s gonna be the king,” he said. “The West Coast, they was sellin’ millions of records, and before Big, I felt like there was only so far New York rap could go as far as sales. Biggie changed all of that.”
The segment closed with Biggie’s children—daughter Tyanna and son C.J. (who has previously worked as an actor and released his own music for the first time in August). “Our father was one of the founding fathers of hip-hop. He helped revolutionize what was a young art form for the Black community and the world,” C.J. said. “I’m honored to share his name and his dedication to Black music, creativity, self-expression, and Black freedom. I love you, Meemaw. Thanks for teaching us who Christopher Wallace was as a son, friend, poet, artist, and father. We love you Meemaw. We love you dad. Brooklyn, we did it!”
Rest in peace Ryan Bowers. He was signed to Nick Cannon’s Ncredible Entertainment as a member of the Psych Ward Druggies (with Kehlani). He was a big fan of Bone Thugs and Tech N9ne, and ended up doing songs (and shows) with them both. Heck of a talent, just too many demons.
It’s almost unheard of for musicians to change their name after 25 years, especially when that change is part of a marketing campaign for an American casual dining restaurant known for their chicken wings. In either a coup for marketing professionals everywhere or a sign that no one (even legendary hip-hop groups) are immune to capitalism’s allure, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony announced on February 19th that their new name is Boneless Thugs-N-Harmony — a homage to Buffalo Wild Wings.
In addition to the overarching name swap, three members of the group will also go by new monikers. Krayzie Bone, Flesh-N-Bone, and Wish Bone are now Krayzie Boneless, Flesh-N-Boneless, and Wish Boneless. According to the marketing materials released by Buffalo Wild Wings, Layzie Bone is not on board with the new “Boneless” identity. “I ain’t changing shit,” Layzie says in a Behind The Music-esque spoof released in conjunction with the announcement. “Bone Thugs-N-Harmony changes their name to Boneless. It’s preposterous.”
According to Seth Freeman, the CMO of Buffalo Wild Wings, there’s a complicated, non-monetary reason for the name change. “These boneless wings are so good, what if they made Bone Thugs-N-Harmony have an identity crisis,” Freeman wrote in a statement. In reality, the group’s longtime manager Steve Lobel says he was approached by a marketing agency a few months ago about the campaign. “Three of the four were down with it,” Lobel says. “Layzie Bone was hesitant, and he’s still hesitant about it. He wasn’t with it, but the other three gentlemen were.” Lobel has worked with the group since 1994, meeting them through Eazy-E.
Carbon Monoxide by Bizzy Bone (of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony) was one of my favorite albums last year. I found it interesting how similar the cover looked to Heaven’z Movie (1998), his debut record.
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