'Tha Crossroads' is a song written and performed by hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, taken from their album E. 1999 Eternal and released in 1996. The song is dedicated to the group's mentor, the late gangsta rap icon Eazy-E, and other family members. The song was the highest-debuting rap single when it debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.^[1] It is their biggest selling single, reaching number one on the Hot 100, and in 1997, the song won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.^[2]

• 3Track listings
• 4Charts and sales
• 5Blazin' Squad version

Background[edit]

'Crossroad' originally debuted in 1995 on the E. 1999 Eternal album. It was dedicated to Bone's dead friend Wallace (Wally) Laird III, but after the death of Eazy-E they decided to remake it as 'Tha Crossroads'.

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The original song appears on the edited version of the album, though the European release has the original as track number 8 and the remix as track 18. The song is performed by four of the group's members, (Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Bizzy Bone and Wish Bone). After receiving high praise for their song the group decided to make it their third single for their already released album, E. 1999 Eternal.

The song was a smash hit worldwide and reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It has been certified 2x platinum in the United States.

In 2008, 'Tha Crossroads' was ranked number 33 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. ^[3]

Music video[edit]

The music video was filmed on February 27–28, 1996. It opens with the female vocal group Tre' (Kimberly Cromartie, Rebecca Forsha and Maniko Williams) singing the traditional spiritual 'Mary Don't You Weep' in a church funeral setting, followed by the members of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony singing the main song in several settings, such as a church and a mountain top.

The main focus of the video is an imposing man with sunglasses and a trench coat, akin to a Reaper. Bone are among the few who can see the man, and watch him as he gathers souls of various individuals who are marked for death, such as a young man who leaves his distraught mother behind (presumably have died after entering life as a gang member), Bone's friend Mike G, Wish Bone's uncle Charles, Eazy-E, and a newborn baby (possibly to have died from a childbirth complication). The Reaper then leads the souls, with the baby in his arms, up a mountain where he reveals himself to be an angel, then takes the dead to Heaven.

'Tha Crossroads' was nominated for the Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1996, although it lost to Coolio's 'Gangsta's Paradise.'

Track listings[edit]

Australian CD single[edit]

1. 'Tha Crossroads' (D.J. U-Neek's Mo Thug remix) – 3:50
2. 'Tha Crossroads' (D.J. U-Neek's remix instrumental) – 3:48
3. 'Crossroad' (LP version – radio edit) – 3:33
4. '1st of tha Month' (The Kruder and Dorfmeister remix) – 6:15
5. 'Thuggish Ruggish Bone' – 4:42

Charts and sales[edit]

Blazin' Squad version[edit]

'Crossroads', a retitled and reworked version of 'Tha Crossroads', was released by British ten-piece hip-hop group Blazin' Squad as their first single in August 2002.

Background[edit]

The group's cover version of 'Crossroads' was recorded for inclusion on their first studio album, In the Beginning. The decision to record and release 'Crossroads' came about during the final stages of the album production: until June 2002, the song 'Standard Flow' was planned for release as the group's first single, with a promotional version of the 'Standard Flow' even made available on August 5. Despite being labelled as a cover version, only the chorus from the original version remains, with the verses replaced by new lyrics written by the band. Despite being the only 'cover version' the group ever recorded, it became the band's only number one single, staying at the top of the UK Singles Chart for one week in August 2002.^[24] Two versions of the song exist: the main version, which features in the music video and on In the Beginning, and the full version, which contains two extra verses, which appears on the second physical release of the single.

Music video[edit]

The music video for 'Crossroads' directed by Vaughan Arnell was premiered in July 2002. The video runs for a total length of three minutes and forty-eight seconds^[25] and shows the band performing the song on top of an unfinished flyover in the centre of Cape Town. The video also shows scenes of an underpass where a number of homeless people are living, and individual shots of each band member. The video was filmed with the phantom effect, which provides a 'shadow' type movement for each member of the band.

Track listing[edit]

• Digital single^[26]

1. 'Crossroads' (radio edit) – 3:10
2. 'Uproar' – 3:25

• UK CD #1

1. 'Crossroads' (radio edit) – 3:10
2. 'Uproar' – 3:25
3. 'Crossroads' (CD-ROM video) – 3:45

• UK CD #2

1. 'Crossroads' (full version) – 3:50
2. 'Offering' – 3:20
3. 'Crossroads' (T.N.T Remix) – 3:50

• Cassette

1. 'Crossroads' (radio edit) – 3:10
2. 'Crossroads' (full version) – 3:50

Chart positions[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^CUDA, HEIDI SIEGMUND (1996-06-15). 'Seeking a Path After 'Tha Crossroads''. Los Angeles Times. ISSN0458-3035. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
2. ^'Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Biography & History AllMusic'. AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
3. ^'VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs'.
4. ^'Australian-charts.com – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Tha Crossroads'. ARIA Top 50 Singles.
5. ^'Austriancharts.at – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Tha Crossroads' (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
6. ^'Ultratop.be – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Tha Crossroads' (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
7. ^'Ultratop.be – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Tha Crossroads' (in French). Ultratop 50.
8. ^'Lescharts.com – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Tha Crossroads' (in French). Les classement single.
9. ^'Musicline.de – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Single-Chartverfolgung' (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
10. ^'The Irish Charts – Search Results – Tha Crossroads'. Irish Singles Chart.
11. ^'Dutchcharts.nl – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Tha Crossroads' (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
12. ^'Charts.nz – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Tha Crossroads'. Top 40 Singles.
13. ^'Swedishcharts.com – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Tha Crossroads'. Singles Top 100.
14. ^'Swisscharts.com – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Tha Crossroads'. Swiss Singles Chart.
15. ^'Official Singles Chart Top 100'. Official Charts Company.
16. ^'Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Chart History (Hot 100)'. Billboard.
17. ^'Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)'. Billboard.
18. ^'Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)'. Billboard.
19. ^'Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Chart History (Pop Songs)'. Billboard.
20. ^'New Zealand End of Year Chart 1996'. THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
21. ^'Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts' (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
22. ^'Billboard Top 100 – 1996'. Longboredsurfer.com. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
23. ^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.
24. ^ ^abRoberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 676. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
25. ^Video on YouTube
26. ^'iTunes – Music – Crossroads – Single by Blazin' Squad'. Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2014-04-02.

External links[edit]

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

• Summaries (1)

Summaries

• Eli Seal takes the Hit Me America challenge when he writes a song at the Legendary Buffalo Chip with bikers from Across America. If that's not enough he has only 1 hour to write the song and perform it live for the audience.

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