Maybe there was a trace of hyberbole when I kicked off my Times piece by declaring that Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is the most underrated group in rap history. Then again, I’m willing to ride this point out. Of course, other possible answers may include Organized Konfusion, Ultramagnetic, Camp Lo and others. And no, UGK no longer count as underrated. In fact, in the aftermath of Pimp C’s death, they’ve officially become overrated. Really guys, “Intl. Player’s Anthem” aside, Underground Kingz just wasn’t that good.
But while there are roughly 3,321 bloggers currently considering naming their first born son, Bun, I’ve never heard a single word about Bone in the two years I’ve mucked around this so-called world wide web. Naturally I’m as guilty as anyone. I’ve probably written 52,212 words on Ghostface (last week alone!) but never wrote about Bone until today. This despite them being one of my favorite all-time groups, in addition to having once decided to only answer to the name of Layzie Bone for two weeks in the 10th grade (this is not true. However, I was extremely lazy in the 10th grade.)
Granted, Wish, Bizzy, Krayzie, Layzie and Sleepy never delivered a stone-cold classic, something that you can point to as inarguable testament of their genius. However, E. 1999 Eternal is damn close and Creepin’ On The Come Up might well be the best rap EP ever made. Plus, “No Surrender,” has been adopted as John McCain’s official campaign theme song. The link to my Times review is below. There were Thugs, there was harmony, though sadly there weren’t any bones. Not everyone’s perfect.
LA Times: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Live Review
MP3: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony-“Foe tha’ Love of $”
