Bone Thugs-N-Harmony open up about their faithful fan base, selling out shows, and offer advice to young people everywhere.
There’s a wide range of artists who use your influence. You also have a wide array of fans at your shows from middle-aged women to barely legal’s. How have you seen your fan base change over the years?
Layzie Bone: We been had them from two to ninety-nine. We’ve had them from the beginning… it’s always been dynamic.
Flesh-N-Bone: Three to four generations.
Layzie Bone: Every race, every gender, our fans have always been so wide.
Why do you think that is?
Krayzie Bone: Because of the music, because it was original. It was something nobody had heard before. We just happened to have sense enough to put a message behind it also. It captured everybody, we mystified everyone. It was a mystery. And it still is, people try to copy but they can’t quite get it. It will always be a mystery.
On this tour, some of your shows have sold out so quickly that you’ve had to add a second show. Is that something you guys were surprised about?
Layzie Bone: Not really because we stay on the road. we’ve been building our shows over the last couple years. So building that, we’ve been consistent with it. We’ve watched it grow, it dwindled down to barely anything, and watched it grow back all the way to where it’s almost on fire. We gotta album out, we’re on TV, but we always had that type of star power. We were never really out in the open or in front like that. We attracted just as much attention though.
Wish Bone: Good music speaks for itself, you know. I think a lot of the music, like the harmonies and the flows, I think a lot of subject matter and real life situations that people could relate to like First of the Month, Crossroads, things like that, set us aside from the average artist because we had real subject matter. Like real music, like our music comes from the heart, we hella creative but it’s not all creativity, It’s real life situations. Our music mixes into all different situations. It’s like there’s a piece of music there for everybody.
Layzie Bone: And back to the touring aspect, it’s like they call us the Beatles of Hip Hop, the Rolling Stones. With our different partners, we’re in the right place at the right time right now. The partners we work with now, Rock the Bells, we feel like we’re in the right place at the right time right now.
Your Twitter said the other day: In retrospect, your times of struggle will be the most beautiful. What advice do you have to give to the people out there, your fans that are struggling?
Wish Bone: First and foremost you gotta put God first, you know what I mean? Cause your life is in God’s hands, you gotta strive hard and let Him know what you’re trying to do and work really, really hard at it, and believe in yourself and make things happens. It might not be the exact thing that you want to happen, but it’ll happen.
Flesh-N-Bone: Just be confident in what you’re doing. You gotta do everything you gotta do to get to where you want to be. Be confident in yourself.
Layzie Bone: Embrace your struggles because that’s what builds your character. Your character is what’s gonna determine if you’re successful or not, and your persistence and dedication and what you’re really trying to do. Being 38 years old, I know now that you should embrace your struggle because that’s what’s building your character and makes you what you’re gonna become. Don’t look at your struggle like a struggle, look at it like it’s just an obstacle and you’re trying to win a race. You should be happy for them because they’re gonna make you stronger. Keep pushing, be smart.
Krayzie: If this is something you truly wanna do, then you should do it because you love it, not because of what you see on TV, the cars and the houses. It’s really a slap in the face when you get into this business and realize that it isn’t all like that, and everybody can’t bounce back from that. Once they chase their dream and they’re slapped with reality, it’s a whole different thing. First you gotta talk to God and make sure that this is what you really wanna do, cause it isn’t an easy road. Souls are being sold. It’s something serious. Make sure that this is for you.
– Emily Berkey
