E. 1999 Eternal

E. 1999 Eternal is the second studio album by American hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, released July 25, 1995, on Ruthless Records. The album was released four months after the death of rapper Eazy-E, the group's mentor and the executive producer of the album. Both the album and single "Tha Crossroads" are dedicated to him. Following up on the surprise success of their breakthrough single "Thuggish Ruggish Bone", it became a popular album and received positive reviews from music critics, earning praise for the group's melodic rapping style. The album title is a portmanteau of Cleveland's eastside neighborhood centering on East 99th Street and St. Clair Avenue where the group is based and the then-future year 1999.

E. 1999 Eternal
Studio album by
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
ReleasedJuly 25, 1995
StudioTrax Recording Studio (Hollywood, Los Angeles)
Genre
Length57:18
Label
Producer
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony chronology
Creepin on ah Come Up
(1994)		 E. 1999 Eternal
(1995)		 The Art of War
(1997)
Singles from E. 1999 Eternal
  1. "1st of tha Month"
    Released: August 11, 1995
  2. "East 1999"
    Released: November 21, 1995
  3. "Tha Crossroads"
    Released: April 23, 1996[1]

The album sold 307,000 copies in the first week. E. 1999 Eternal became the group's best-selling album, with four million copies sold in the United States. It topped the US Billboard 200 for two consecutive weeks. The album was nominated for the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, ultimately losing to Naughty by Nature's Poverty's Paradise at the 1996 Grammy Awards.[2] In 2015, the group toured in support of the 20th anniversary of the album, performing it in its entirety for the first time.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[4]
The Guardian[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
NME8/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
The Source3.5/5[11]
The Village VoiceC[12]

Upon release, E. 1999 Eternal met with critical acclaim. Cheo H. Coker of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the group "has raised the stakes of the gangsta rap game, not only in terms of pure, gritty excess, but also in rhyme-style, cadence and delivery", concluding: "This is the kind of album that starts out good and gets better with repeated listenings—as the dark, subliminal references clear up. Easily one of the most worthwhile rap purchases of the year."[6]

Retrospectively, Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic described E. 1999 Eternal as "an impressive debut full-length that dismisses any notion that the group was merely a one-hit wonder", adding that it "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."[3] The Source hailed E. 1999 Eternal as one of The Top 100 Rap Albums of 1990s.

In a second thought review in Stylus Magazine, the album was described as "Lyrically speaking, Bone Thugs have much in common with countless mainstream rap acts. The themes running throughout E.1999 Eternal are familiar—drugs, violent crime and death make regular appearances. It's the manner in which the lyrics are framed and delivered that makes the group such a bizarre proposition. Bone Thugs had a melodic flow—frequently delivered in unison—that bordered on singing. They could rap together at a lightning fast pace, without losing their sweetness." Stylus also praised producer DJ U-Neek for his production style on the album stating "The album was entirely produced by DJ U-Neek (although he did collaborate on some tracks), endowing cohesiveness to the unique Bone Thugs sound. U-Neek was, like the vocal group members of Bone Thugs, unorthodox in the rap field. It wouldn't be far off to describe him as a songwriter as well as a producer. He was always keen to flesh out interesting sounds—usually based around rumbling piano chords, mellotron and synthesised strings. Yet, the focus was largely on song craft and melody—the album frequently strays into gloomy territory, but never loses its sense of tunefulness. The beats were not particularly striking—usually low-key and sluggish, but the album's strengths are not rhythm-related."

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Da Introduction"
DJ U-Neek4:28
2."East 1999"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C[a]
4:24
3."Eternal"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C[a]
  • Kenny McCloud[a]
4:06
4."Crept & We Came"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C[a]
5:06
5."Down '71 (The Getaway)"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C
U-Neek4:52
6."Mr. Bill Collector"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C[a]
5:04
7."Budsmokers Only"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C
U-Neek3:34
8."Crossroad"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C


  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C[a]
3:43
9."Me Killa (Skit)"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • U-Neek
  • McCloud[a]
0:58
10."Land of tha Heartless"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • McCloud
3:08
11."No Shorts, No Losses"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • McCloud
4:54
12."1st of tha Month"
U-Neek5:15
13."Buddah Lovaz"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C[a]
4:43
14."Die, Die, Die"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
U-Neek2:51
15."Mr. Ouija 2 (Skit)"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
1:19
16."Mo' Murda"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C[a]
5:47
17."Shotz to tha Double Glock (Tha Dogg Pound Diss) (feat. Poetic Hustla'z & Graveyard Shift)"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Poetic Hustla'z
  • Graveyard Shift
  • McCloud
  • U-Neek
  • McCloud[a]
4:44
Reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
18."Tha Crossroads (DJ U-Neek's Mo Thug Remix)"
  • Bone
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C
  • U-Neek
  • Tony-C[a]
3:46
Notes
  • ^a signifies a co-producer

Samples
# Title Samples
1."Da Introduction""In The Rain" by The Dramatics
3."Eternal""Character Bios Theme" from Eternal Champions by Andy Armer[13]
7."Budsmokers Only""Reasons" by Earth, Wind & Fire
8."Crossroad”"Bad Ending Theme" from Eternal Champions by Andy Armer[14]
9."Me Killa (Skit)""I Will Follow Him" by Little Peggy March
12."1st of Tha Month""I Just Wanna Be Your Girl" by Chapter 8
13."Buddah Lovaz""Choosey Lover" by The Isley Brothers
14."Die, Die, Die""Breakthrough" by Isaac Hayes
16."Mo Murda""I'd Rather Be With You" by Bootsy's Rubber Band
18."Tha Crossroads""Make Me Say It Again Girl Part 1 & 2" by The Isley Brothers

Personnel
  • Eric "Eazy-E" Wright - Executive Producer, Album Concept
  • D.J. U-Neek - Producer, Recording
  • Layzie Bone - Producer
  • Anne Catalino - Engineer
  • Aaron Connor - Engineer and Recording
  • Don Cunningham - Design and Art Direction
  • Tony Cowan - Recording
  • Madeleine Smith - Sample Clearance

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[34] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Hip-Hop Gem: 'Tha Crossroads' Was Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's First Number 1 Hit". Stop the Breaks. September 10, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  2. Grammy Best Rap Albums Winners. About.com. Retrieved on 2010-08-17.
  3. Birchmeier, Jason. "E 1999 Eternal – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony". AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  4. Browne, David (August 4, 1995). "E. 1999 Eternal". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  5. Wazir, Burhan (August 25, 1995). "Bone Thugs-n-Harmony: E. 1999 Eternal (Ruthless/Relativity)". The Guardian. London.
  6. Coker, Cheo H. (July 22, 1995). "Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, 'E.1999 Eternal,' Relativity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  7. "Bone Thugs-n-Harmony: E. 1999 Eternal". NME. August 19, 1995. p. 50.
  8. "Bone Thugs-n-Harmony: E. 1999 Eternal". Q. No. 162. March 2000. pp. 116–17.
  9. Fernando, S. H. Jr. (November 2, 1995). "Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: E. 1999 Eternal". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 6, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  10. Relic, Peter (2004). "Bone Thugs-n-Harmony". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 92–93. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. "Bone Thugs-n-Harmony: E. 1999 Eternal". The Source. No. 72. September 1995. p. 98.
  12. Christgau, Robert (November 28, 1995). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  13. Mackie, Drew. "59: Throughout the Universe, in Eternity". Singing Mountain. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  14. Mackie, Drew. "59: Throughout the Universe, in Eternity". Singing Mountain. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  15. "Australiancharts.com – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  16. "Ultratop.be – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  17. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8490". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  19. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  20. "Charts.nz – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  21. "Norwegiancharts.com – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  22. "Swedishcharts.com – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  23. "Swisscharts.com – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  25. "Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  26. "Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  27. "Top Selling Albums of 1996". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  28. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  29. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  30. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  31. "Canadian album certifications – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Music Canada. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  32. "New Zealand album certifications – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  33. "British album certifications – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  34. "American album certifications – Bone Thugs 'N Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Recording Industry Association of America.
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