Wu-Tang Clan und Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

Wu-Tang Clan were the antidote to Dr. Dre's G-funk domination, offering a distinctly grimy, hardcore alternative to the West Coast sound with their 1993 debut, "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)." Formed in Staten Island, New York, US, the Clan developed into a sprawling collection of artists, rooted by RZA's musical direction and vision. Made up of roughly nine members, each artist delivered their own persona and style, with the crew being started by GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard, soon expanding to include Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa, and Inspectah Deck.

Their debut release forged a new sound in hip-hop, through darkly funky soundscapes full of a sense of eerie, urban-dystopian menace which grounded their seamless, gritty vocal attack loaded with violent martial arts imagery. Achieving widespread critical acclaim and commercial success, Wu-Tang's sound became instantly recognizable which would go on to influence countless artists across genres subsequently.

Following their debut, the various artists embarked on a host of solo ventures, with five of the crew landing solo contracts on the strength of the single "C.R.E.A.M" alone. The may artists of Wu-Tang became household names, collaborating with many others in the industry and finding their new projects receiving the same success as their collective recordings.

In 1997, Wu-Tang Clan reunited together to work on their second album, the double-disc "Wu-Tang Forever," finding huge anticipation for the release. The album went straight to number one in the charts and sold over 600,000 copies in its first week. Wu-Tang Clan became a branded franchise, expanding its roster of artists to include new members and to aid young protégés gain their first exposure. The collective became a huge business, dominating the airwaves. Meanwhile, Ol'Dirty Bastard's behavior began to become erratic and a series of incidents in 1998 left the rapper incarcerated and in and out of rehab for drug addiction.

Following "Wu-Tang Forever," the many artists released further solo albums and projects, although they were unable to maintain such high levels of fervor around these releases, although they were still widely critically acclaimed. The Wu-Tang Clan project was perhaps spread too thin, with the vast number of ventures causing inconsistency and over-dilution. In 2000, the Clan returned with a new effort, "The W," which was a more focused offering, a release marred by Ol'Dirty Bastard's continuing erratic behavior that was quickly spiraling out of control.

It was only a year later that a new Wu-Tang release arrived, with their fourth record, "Iron Flag." Solo projects continued subsequently, with the next release for the collective only being the 2004 live album, "Disciples of the 36 Chambers." Sadly that same year, Ol' Dirty Bastard suffered a fatal heart attack, with this release being his last.

In 2007, new Clan material surfaced, with "8 Diagrams," which suffered from criticism from GZA and Raekwon about RZA's chosen direction. Another bout of solo albums followed before the 2011 compilation, "Legendary Weapons" was released. To huge anticipation, in 2013, a new studio album was announced, planned for 2013 to commemorate their 20th anniversary. However, the album did not appear until 2014, when it was finally released on Warner Bros., titled "A Better Tomorrow." Alongside this album, Wu-Tang Clan also made music history, after announcing their creation of "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," a secret album that was only to have one copy pressed, to be sold to the highest bidder, likely to be housed in a museum, with RZA suggesting the music would not be available for another seven years. An artistic statement never before created in popular music.

The group started performing around the Cleveland area in the early ‘90s under several names such as The Band-Aid Boys and B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e. The group was fairly large containing five members: Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, Bizzy Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, and Wish Bone. They released their first album “Faces of Death” in 1993 under the guidance of Krayzie Bone’s older brother, but the album did not gain them the success they were hoping to achieve. After the group released their debut album they were persistently seeking to find someone who could give them a record deal. After much searching they finally caught the eye of NWA’s Eazy-E who signed them to his label and convinced the group to change their name from B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e to Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

In 1994 the group released their first EP “Creepin on ah Come Up” on Ruthless Records to commercial and critical success. The EP reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The EP contained the very popular singles “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” and “For tha Love of $”, which featured Eazy-E. The EP showed Bone Thugs-n-Harmony shifting styles from the hardcore and abrasive gangsta rap style to a more G-Funk style that was prevalent in West Coast hip-hop.

The year 1995 showed Bone Thugs-n-Harmony releasing their second album “E. 1999 Eternal”, which would become the group’s most popular album. The album has been certified 4x Platinum and reached the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was also a critical success having been nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Album and The Source labeled it as one of the best rap albums of the ‘90s. The album contained the singles “1st of that Month”, “East 1999”, and “Tha Crossroads”. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony were also praised for their melodic approach to rapping as well as the soundscape of the album, which included infectious G-Funk beats and dark uses of synthesizers.

After achieving mainstream success with their music career, the group started their own label called Mo Thugs Records that released albums for many Cleveland based artists. The group’s third album “The Art of War” was released in 1997 to commercial success and contained several unique collaborations, which included a song with Tupac Shakur labeled “Thug Luv”. The group’s fourth album “BTNHResurrection” also received commercial success, but it would be the last album that Flesh-n-Bone would appear on until their 2010 release “Uni5: The World’s Enemy”.

In the early 2000’s Bizzy Bone, Layzie Bone, and Krayzie Bone would take a break from the group and each release solo albums. For the group’s 2006 album “Thug Stories” the group was only down to three members, Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, and Wish Bone, but the album was well received and placed high on the Billboard charts. Their 2010 album “Uni5: The World’s Enemy” saw all original members of the group reunited again.

Over the years the group has collaborated with some of the most celebrated performers in the business including Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, The Game, Akon, and will.i.am. The group has also worked with some of the most well-respected rappers including 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., and Big Pun. The group’s final album has plans for collaborations with Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and A$AP Mob. Their final album will only have one copy released, which will have a starting bid of $1 million dollars, and the album will be backed by a large world tour.