The story behind Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s ‘Tha Crossroads’
In 1995, when E. 1999 Eternal was initially released, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony added a brief tribute song to the album called ‘Crossroad’. It was dedicated to their friend Wallace “Wally” Laird III, who was a fallen brother of Cleveland. The song was a candlelight in the midst of a record of street prophecy. Then, in a few months, all was different.
Their mentor, Eazy-E, died on March 26th, 1995, and the group returned to the studio to redefine their sorrow. What came out was ‘Tha Crossroads’, the remix that turned a neighbourhood goodbye into an international song. Upon its release in April 1996, it spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making it a part of pop history.
The first ‘Crossroad’ had been a personal one. Krayzie Bone once said there was “a second ‘Crossroads’ that sounded different”. It was created entirely in honour of Wally. Upon the death of Eazy, the group rewrote it to involve him and others whom they had lost. What started as a modest vigil turned out to be a bit broader, a gospel promise that no one really vanishes. Subsequent releases of the album featured Tha Crossroads, and to most observers, that became the standard one. It was the same heart, only with more names.
The boards were behind DJ U-Neek, the in-house architect of Ruthless Records. He beat it till it was smooth, made the chorus glowing with brightness, the harmony more church-soul. The song was eventually released as “D.J. U-Neek’s Mo Thug Remix”, and the artists, U-Neek, Tony C, and Bone, were included. What they produced was a remix that was a rarity, one that overcame its own original. The version by U-Neek removed the extravagance but not the feeling, the kind of record that has both grief and catharsis.
The story became visual as the video made it visual. Like a modern parable, it depicts a dark person gathering souls in the regular streets only to turn out to have been an angel taking them through the light. Uncle Charles is there. Eazy-E is there. Wally is there. It was in constant rotation on MTV, where it eventually received nominations in the ‘Video of the Year’, ‘Group Video’, ‘Rap Video’, ‘Viewer’s Choice’, and ‘Special Effects’ categories in the 1996 VMAs. To most fans, the image transformed personal tragedy into a divine one.
By the time ‘Tha Crossroads’ was released, on 23 April 1996, it had reached number two and topped the charts one week after. It took the number one position for eight weeks straight and also received a Grammy in the category of Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Its figures are mind-boggling as it started as a lament. But what gave it that connection was the combination of speed-rap and harmony that Bone had. Their melody was exalted as prayer in motion, and the hook of “see you at the crossroads” provided hip hop with a spiritual and street language of mourning.
The restatement made their own circle of loss universal. The original one was on behalf of their sixth spirit within Wally. The second version was open to all listeners who had lost a loved one to burial. “You can meet me at the crossroads” became a song that was singable by individuals on their own basis, a promise that they were going to see each other again when the hard work was over. In it, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony did what not many rappers could do: they put tragedy into a melody the entire world could hum.
‘Tha Crossroads’ still has a bearing decades later. It relegated E. 1999 Eternal to the charts and defined Bone as Midwest pioneers who transformed pain into harmony. The song continues to thrive in honours, memories, and live performances, and subsequent versions added Flesh-n-Bone so that the five voices would be united. The moment hip hop learnt to grieve and sing simultaneously is known as ‘Tha Crossroads’.