E. 1999 Eternal

E 1999 Eternal is a gangsta rap album by hip hop group Bone Thugs N Harmony, released on July 25, 1995 (see 1995 in music). Following up on the surprise success of their breakthrough single, "Thuggish Ruggish Bone," E 1999 Eternal became a popular album that received substantial critical acclaim for Bone Thugs N Harmony's unique melodic style of rapping. It is considered by many, a Hip Hop classic.

E 1999 Eternal peaked on Billboard's (North America) Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and the Billboard 200 charts.

Track listing

"Da Introduction"
"East 1999"
"Eternal"
"Crept And We Came"
"Down '71 (The Getaway)"
"Mr. Bill Collector"
"Budsmokers Only"
"Crossroad" / "Tha Crossroads (D.J. U-Neek's Mo Thug Remix)"
"Me Killa"
"Land of Tha Heartless"
"No Shorts, No Losses"
"1st Of Tha Month"
"Buddah Lovaz"
"Die Die Die"
"Mr. Ouija 2"
"Mo' Murda"
"Shotz To Tha Double Glock"

Personnel

Eric 'Eazy-E' Wright - Executive Producer, Album Concept
D.J. U-Neek - Producer, Recording
Aaron Connor - Engineer and Recording
Don Cunningham - Design and Art Direction
Tony Cortez - Recording
Madeleine Smith - Sample Clearance

Charting singles

Billboard Music Charts (North America) 1995 "1st Of Tha Month" The Billboard Hot 100 No. 14

1995 "1st Of Tha Month" Hot Rap Singles No. 4

1995 "1st Of Tha Month" Rhythmic Top 40 No. 10

1995 "1st Of Tha Month" Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 13

1996 "East 1999" The Billboard Hot 100 No. 62

1996 "Tha Crossroads" The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1

1996 "East 1999" Hot Rap Singles No. 8

1996 "Tha Crossroads" Hot Rap Singles No. 1

1996 "East 1999" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks No. 39

1996 "Tha Crossroads" Rhythmic Top 40 No. 1

1996 "Tha Crossroads" Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 21

1996 "Tha Crossroads" Top 40 Mainstream No. 18

1997 "Tha Crossroads" Canadian Singles Chart No. 17

Miscellany

This album was released twice. The original version contained the song "Crossroad" (track 8). After the death of Eazy-E, Bone remade the song as "Tha Crossroads (D.J. U-Neek's Mo Thug Remix)" and re-released the album (featuring the new single at track 8). At some retailers the re-release bore a sticker reading "Includes the bomb hit: Tha Crossroads!"
There are a few differences in the art on the actual CD between releases. Newer versions of the second release (i.e. the one containing "Tha Crossroads") have a different pattern on the CD bearing the number 9 (or 6) on the CD eight times. There are also several symbols appearing on it resembling characters in the Hindi alphabet.
If you look carefully at the cover art, there is a figure in one of the building windows wearing sunglasses, likely representative of Eazy-E.
Inside the cover, in white letters on a black field, are the words "Eric Wright RIP 11523". This appears on several other albums, including posthumously released Eazy-E albums. "11523" is the number of days Eazy spent on this Earth (approximately 31 and a half years).
One page in the leaflet contains a message written backwards (mirror-image) with all the words run together. It reads:

MISTER OUIJA MYSTIC ORACLE I FOUND MYSELF WITHOUT MORALS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN LOOKING ON THE PLACE WHERE WE ALL WANT TO LIVE I STOPPED TO SEE FOREVER NOT WANTING TO SEE WRONG I CONTINUED I STOPPED NOT RIGHTLY TO CLAIR MY HEAD FOR A MOMENT AND TRAVELED ON THREE WEEKS AT THE THIRD WEEK I LOOKED TO MY HEART TO SEE LOVE AND SO I FOLLOWED SO MANY BATTLES I FOUGHT PAIN IN MY LEFT HAND LOOKING FOR PEACE IN MY RIGHT EXTENDED OUT I HAVE WALKED AWAY FROM MY HEART AND CROSSED THE LAST DAY I LOOKED RIGHT INTO THE VALLEY OF EVIL AND FOUND THE HOME OF THE BEAST TO NO MY ENEMY I HAVE DONE WRONG THROUGH TO THE LAND OF THE HEARTLES I CAN DO WRONG NO MORE I SEE THE DEVIL AND HE BINDS ME BUT ARENT DEVILS MERELY ANGELS TEARING AWAY YOUR GUILT I STOPPED ON THE LAST DAY OF THE LAST MONTH OF THE LAST YEAR AGAIN I HAV FOUND MY HEART MY LIFE MUST BE RIGHTEOUS AND A PLACE UNKNOWN SO I CAN REST MY SOUL WHERE IT ALL BEGAN MYSTIC FORTUNE COMPANY E.1999 Eternal St. Cleveland, OH. 00999 1-900-622-6636 ext. 8

There is no such address as E.1999 Eternal St., nor is 00999 Cleveland's zip code. The phone number (1-900-62BONE6) was their fan club number at the time of the album's release. The opening line, "I found myself without morals..." appears on the posthumous Eazy-E album, Str8 Off Tha Muthaphuckin Streets of Compton, on the inside of the insert behind the CD, written on one of the folds.

There is a map featured in the leaflet, though it does not correspond to any real place. The names on the map are all relatively significant:
- National Ave. comes after 665th Ave., making it 666th Ave.
- Cleveland Blvd.
- Wallace Drive - Reference to Wallace (Wally) Laird III, who died and was paid tribute in "Crossroad" and "Tha Crossroads".
- E. 1999 - Comes after E. 99th Street and is the name of the album.
- Eternal - Name of the album.
- 1st Street - Possible reference to "1st of Tha Month".
- Heller Drive - Jerry Heller founded Ruthless Records with Eazy-E.
- N. Eazy Street / S. Eazy Street - Reference to Eazy-E.
- Selthur St. - Ruthles(s) backwards, i.e., Ruthless Records.
- Wrightwoods Dr. - Eazy-E's real name is Eric Wright and his wife was Tomika Woods-Wright.
- Young Street - Dr. Dre's real name is Andre Young (he was a member of N.W.A with Eazy-E)
- O' Shea Avenue - Ice Cube's real name is O' Shea Jackson (he was a member of N.W.A with Eazy-E)
- W. Compton Blvd. / E. Compton Blvd. - Reference to Compton, California, where Eazy-E hailed from.
- Crenshaw Blvd. - Street in Compton, California.

In conjunction with the backward Ouija Curse, one can follow the map. The directions are as follows:

"I FOUND MYSELF WITHOUT MORALS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN"

Start at the X. (X marks the spot) It is on S. Eazy Street--Eazy started Bone's career.

"LOOKING ON THE PLACE WHERE WE ALL WANT TO LIVE"

Face Eternal (we all want to live eternally). This could also be interpreted as meaning "we all want to live on easy street", thus you look down S. Eazy Street.

"I STOPPED TO SEE FOREVER NOT WANTING TO SEE WRONG I CONTINUED"

Travel to Eternal (forever), and turn right (opposite of wrong). Symbol here: B.

"I CONTINUED I STOPPED NOT RIGHTLY TO CLAIR MY HEAD FOR A MOMENT"

Stop at St. Clair Street ("clair my head"). Turn left ("not rightly"). Symbol here: 1.

"AND TRAVELED ON THREE WEEKS"

Go up three streets to E.98th Street. Symbol here: D.

"AT THE THIRD WEEK I LOOKED TO MY HEART TO SEE LOVE"

Face left toward the heart symbol on the map. Another interpretation is to face your heart, which in the human body is on the left side.

"AND SO I FOLLOWED SO MANY BATTLES I FOUGHT PAIN IN MY LEFT HAND LOOKING FOR PEACE IN MY RIGHT EXTENDED OUT"

Travel down E.98th Street till you get to Truce Blvd. (peace). Symbol here: E.

"I HAVE WALKED AWAY FROM MY HEART AND CROSSED THE LAST DAY"

Follow up Truce across E.1999 (the last day). You are walking right, which would be away from your heart (which is on your left in your body). Symbol here: M.

"I LOOKED RIGHT INTO THE VALLEY OF EVIL"

Turn right on Valley Blvd. Symbol here: 0.

"AND FOUND THE HOME OF THE BEAST TO NO MY ENEMY"

Go down Valley Blvd until National Ave. (which would be 666th Avenue, and 666 being the sign of the devil, National Ave. would be the home of the beast.) Symbol here: N.

"I HAVE DONE WRONG THROUGH TO THE LAND OF THE HEARTLES"

Turn left (wrong, not right) on National Ave. to the "land of the heartles(s)", which is a term Bone uses for Cleveland, i.e. Cleveland Blvd. Symbol here: R.

"I CAN DO WRONG NO MORE"

Turn right at Cleveland Blvd. (don't do wrong, do right).

"I SEE THE DEVIL AND HE BINDS ME BUT ARENT DEVILS MERELY ANGELS TEARING AWAY YOUR GUILT"

You would see the Devil in his home, Hell. Turn down Heller Drive. Sybmbol here: 4.

"I STOPPED ON THE LAST DAY OF THE LAST MONTH OF THE LAST YEAR"

Travel down to E. 1999 (the last day of the last month of the last year, at least in some Apocalyptic beliefs). Symbol here: 1.

"AGAIN I HAV FOUND MY HEART MY LIFE MUST BE RIGHTEOUS AND A PLACE UNKNOWN SO I CAN REST MY SOUL WHERE IT ALL BEGAN"

Look to your left (your heart is on your left). There is an arrow pointing down to E.98th Street. Travel on to that street, which is also known at Wrightwoods Dr. Wright is a play on words of righteous. There is a ? at the area of the map where you now find yourself: a place unknown. Wright is Eazy-E's real last name (Eric Wright), thus, you rest your soul where it all began, with Eazy-E.

The symbols, in order of appearance, (and excluding the "x" in the beginning) are: B 1 D E M 0 N R 4 1. Each of these letters corresponds to a key on a telephone. The code spells out a phone number, 213-360-6741, which at one time may have greeted callers with a special message.

Behind the CD in the jewel case is an image of the group with an overlay of a circular pattern flanked by skeletal hands in the corners. The image is representative of a Ouija board, with the words "Invoke" and "Suppress" found around the circle and one hand possessing a very long index finger extending into a smaller circle, probably representing the planchette (pointer) used in spelling out words on a Ouija board. Written along the left and right folds of this insert (one what is the opposite side of the long, thin edge of the CD where the album name and artist are usually printed) are the following: "Don't Give Props To The Devil" (left) and "Believe in the Last Day" (right). This style of hidden text is repeated on Eazy-E's posthumous album, Str8 Off Tha Muthaphuckin Streets of Compton, which bears the phrases: "Thou shalt not kill" and "You find yourself without morals."
In "Da Introduction" the first part of the song contains a recording played backwards. This segment is part of Bizzy's verse from the song "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" off of the Creepin' On Ah Come Up album. It contains the following:

[Shatasha]: "It's the thuggish ruggish Bone . . ."

[Bizzy]: "Gotta give it on up to the Glock Glock, pop pop, better drop when them buckshot blow. The Bone in me never no ho', so, no creepin' up outta the ziplock. So, Sin, sip gin, and Lil' Mo Heart run up, nut up, and flipped in, then slipped in the clip then, that's takin' the bloody victims. Ever if ya test nuts...."

The track "Mr. Ouija 2" also contains a backwards message. It says "...Wish Bone, and Flesh. They came here from Cleveland, Ohio, on a bus. They met Eazy-E in Los Angeles. Eazy had to listen to their music or send them staight back to Ohio. Well, the playas in Bone thugs-n-harmony..."
The title of the song "Down '71 (The Getaway)" refers to Interstate '71, a large and highly-traveled highway that runs through most of Ohio and the center of Cleveland.
The single, "Tha Crossroads", won a Grammy, went double-platinum, and tied with The Beatles' 32-year-old record (1964's "Can't Buy Me Love") for the fastest rising single on the pop charts.
The song "Buddah Lovaz" is sung to the tune of a song by the Isley Brothers entitled "Choosey Lover" (from the 1983 album "Between the Sheets"). The opening lines to that song are, "I'm so glad you chose me, baby baby..." ("Buddah Lovaz": "I'm so glad you showed me, Krayzie, Layzie...")
The song "Mo' Murda" is based strongly on the instrumental of the Bootsy Collins song "I'd Rather Be With You".
Bone sampled music from the Sega Genesis fighting game, Eternal Champions, for the instrumentals of "Eternal" and the original "Crossroad". Oddly enough, Bone does not mention Sega in the album credits for using their copyrighted music.
In the video for "Tha Crossroads", Eazy-E is seen in the clouds in the closing moments. As he was already dead when this video was shot, the image was taken from his "Real Compton City Gs" video, at the moment in which he is confronting his look-alike on the streets of Compton. Something similar occurs in a commercial for Bone's E. 1999 Eternal album, where Eazy-E is shown busting through an explosion. This scene is identical to one in "Real Compton City Gs" where he throws punches saying "Yo, and here comes my left blow!"