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
Released	July 25, 1995
Studio	Trax Recording Studio (Hollywood, Los Angeles)
Genre	Midwest hip hop gangsta rap g-funk horrorcore
Length	68:04
Label	Ruthless Relativity
Producer	DJ U-Neek Tony C Kenny McCloud
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
"1st of tha Month" Released: July 11, 1995 "East 1999" Released: October 21, 1995 "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.

Commercial performance

E.1999 Eternal sold 307,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums charts. It remained at No. 1 in its second week on both charts, selling 222,000 copies. In its third week, E.1999 Eternal dropped to number 2 on the Billboard 200, behind Hootie & the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View, selling 162,000 copies. The album sold 123,000 copies in its fourth week and got outsold by The Show: The Soundtrack, dropping to No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
NME	8/10[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]
The Source	[11]
The Village Voice	C[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.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Da Introduction"	Bone DJ U-Neek Tony Hester	DJ U-Neek	4:28
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-Neek	4:52
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-Neek	3:34
8.	"Crossroads"	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	U-Neek Bone[a]	3:08
11.	"No Shorts, No Losses"	Bone U-Neek McCloud	U-Neek Bone[a]	4:54
12.	"1st of tha Month"	Bone U-Neek Michael Powell	U-Neek	5:15
13.	"Buddah Lovaz"	Bone U-Neek Tony-C	U-Neek Tony-C[a]	4:43
14.	"Die Die Die"	Bone U-Neek	U-Neek	2:51
15.	"Mr. Ouija 2 (Skit)"	Bone U-Neek	U-Neek Bone[a]	1:19
16.	"Mo' Murda"	Bone U-Neek Tony-C	U-Neek Tony-C[a]	5:47
17.	"Shotz to tha Double Glock (feat. Tony Tone, Tombstone, Mo! Hart, Boogie Nikke, Sin & Sage)"	Bone U-Neek Poetic Hustla'z Graveyard Shift McCloud	U-Neek McCloud[a]	4:44

Reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(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 and "Right and a Wrong way" by Keith Sweat
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

Appearances

• Krayzie Bone appears on all tracks.
• Layzie Bone appears on 17 tracks.
• Bizzy Bone appears on 17 tracks.
• Wish Bone appears on 15 tracks.
• Flesh-n-Bone appears on 5 tracks.

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

Weekly charts Chart (1995–1996) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 48 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 48 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] 14 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] 13 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 29 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] 10 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[21] 21 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 34 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 34 UK Albums (OCC)[24] 39 US Billboard 200[25] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[26] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 32 US Billboard 200[28] 16 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[29] 10 Chart (1995) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[30] 5 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position US Billboard 200[31] 54

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[32]	Platinum	100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[33]	Platinum	15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA)[35]	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 Archived 2011-02-19 at the Wayback Machine. 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. Gordon, Allen S. "Tha Ebony Cat" (September 1995). "Bone Thugs-n-Harmony: E. 1999 Eternal". The Source. No. 72. p. 98.
12. Christgau, Robert (November 28, 1995). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
13. Mackie, Drew (7 February 2019). "59: Throughout the Universe, in Eternity". Singing Mountain. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
14. Mackie, Drew (7 February 2019). "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. "Rock on the Net: Billboard Year-End Chart-Toppers: 1995". Retrieved July 9, 2024.
31. 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.
32. "Canadian album certifications – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Music Canada. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
33. "New Zealand album certifications – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
34. "British album certifications – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
35. "American album certifications – Bone Thugs 'N Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• E 1999 Eternal at Discogs
• "Back to the Lab" series - E 1999 Eternal at RapReviews