Bizzy Bone: Forged Through Fire article

[STILLDRE IS THE GODFATHER]

Bizzy Bone: Forged Through Fire
Friday - September 30, 2005
Kevin Clark
There are situations in life that make you a stronger person. A loss of a pivotal family member, a tragedy, or even a joyous occasion invigorates a person to want to make a significant change for the better. In the early nineties, you could not deny the infectious harmonizing styles of Krayzie, Layzie, Wish, Flesh, and Bizzy – Cleveland’s own, Bone Thugs ‘n Harmony. With Flesh incarcerated, the rest of the group went on to amass success over the years. But as the saying goes – mo’ money, mo’ problems – and Bizzy Bone has had his share of them. HHDX.com sits down with Bizzy as he explains his feelings about the internal issues within the group, his new album – Speaking in Tounges, the rumors of Bone’s reunion, and why he feels that they won’t be remembered in Hip-Hop’s history books.

HHDX: Bizzy, first things first, man – how are you doing? Is everything going well in your life?

Bizzy Bone: Yeah, man… everything is good. I can’t complain, man, I’m still here.

HHDX: Talk a little bit about the upcoming album. When is it dropping? Who are some of the guest appearances?

Bizzy Bone: The album is going to drop on September 30th, or something like that. It’s a very good album in my opinion. I have some beautiful producers on there, Eddie B., Corey and a few other cats on there. Some new talents, some new vocalists will appear on there as well. My new artist Bam will definitely be on there. We’ll be putting out this joint by the grace of God.

HHDX: You and your Bone Thugs comrades seem to have this on-again, off-again relationship? Other than what’s being reported on the wire – why do you think you’ve been kicked out, and then welcomed back into the fold?

Bizzy Bone: It’s all a mirage. It’s not so much us as it’s everyone else around the crew. The crew knows how important we are together. The demons are going to put the wrong people around us. When we were in LA, there was no one around but us. When we made a little bit of money, then we had people coming out of the woodworks. First, it was about “help me, help me.” Then they started talking about your homie behind their backs. I’ve been surrounded by these demons my entire life. That entourage was the deterrent. The added new members messed everything up. Our goal is not everyone else’s goal. Not everyone can be Bone, yet they’ll try to make some shit up as far as a position to fill. I don’t bring any dead weight. I don’t have people around me. It’s just me. Accept me for me and I’ll do the same for you. When you making millions, you can go back to the hood and put people on, give a few new artists a deal. But you can’t help no one if you’re down to your five dollars and the hanger’s on will still try to get a piece of that.

HHDX: Since you guys have again reunited, you’ve all signed to J Records. Is there anything in the works?

Bizzy Bone: I haven’t been privy to that yet. I’ve been trying to get in contact with them to tell them the same thing that I’m telling you. I’m trying to say that we need to get away from these dumb people and get back into the original recipe. We need to get Flesh out of jail. Everyone else is worried about their 10% -- they’re not worried about us. I’m not singling anyone out, I’m just saying that Bone needs to get back with it. And if they’re game, then I’m with it. I can’t deal with their friends, because I’m their [Bone’s] friends. We need to stick together and look out for each other. We’re crew – we can talk about each other because that’s what we are. Other people keep talking about us. I mean I see Swizz (Beats) in New York all the time, I respect Clive Davis and the J Records label, and I absolutely love Alicia Keys. Don’t you think that if I had known something concrete about what’s going on that I wouldn’t hit up Swizz right now for a beat? But no one is talking to me right now and I don’t understand why.

HHDX: What do you think is the allure of Bone Thugs ‘n Harmony after all these years?

Bizzy Bone: Crew. Friendship. Music. But first and foremost, the blessing that God gave us to be with one another and to be an original family. Our union is nothing that is man-made or put together. God put us together. No one can put us asunder. You can’t subdue me with a bottle of liquor or some weed. I’ve stopped drinking and smoking by the grace of God. I can do that through Him. I think that it’s a lot simpler than what people are making it out to be. I believe in taking care of business and being a sound operation. I believe that Bone needs to do what Bone needs to do. J Records is cool, Swizz is cool, Clive is great, Alicia is my heart, and I would love to be a part of that family – but they won’t let me. It ain’t no mystery as to what I’m doing and what I’m thinking. I’m not holding up nothing, I’m walking in truth. So, if I’m open and available and no one is getting at me… who’s bullshittin’? I’m walking in truth.

HHDX: Cleveland hasn’t really be on the Hip-Hop scene since you guys came out and made an impact – is there any reason as to why Cleveland cannot be successful?

Bizzy Bone: I think that a lot of artists leave Cleveland to become successful, then come back and then find that there is no way to help people out when they return. There is so much money in Cleveland to where people need to make it happen. People don’t want to help one another out anymore. No one wants to invest in our talent at home. We have Bone, right there, O’Jay’s, right there, Men At Large, right here – and very little people are able to make a success in the city because the investments aren’t there. We have Jacob’s Field, The Gund [Arena], The Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame – and no one can urge on their musical talent financially? Why?

HHDX: Aside from the upcoming album, Bones’ next project – you have an online reality show, correct?

Bizzy Bone: It’s supposed to be some “webisode” shit, it’s something that’s supposed to be something that’s just put together. It’s an idea the record company came up with. I’d love to do a reality show, like have MTV follow me like they would Martha Stewart and Lil’ Kim. But no one is callin’ me, I don’t understand why? There is a lot of talk about a lot of things, and there are a lot of things that people aren’t putting their word behind. I’m still waiting on the guys [Bone] to give me a call. The people doing the “webisodes” are just taking snippets from home videos I’ve done and put it on the website.

HHDX: People would think that you get criticized enough just when you appear on radio, why would you think to do a reality television show?

Bizzy Bone: Like I said, the record label put that “webisode” thing together. I think that a reality show would give the people something to understand as far as what’s going on in the world. I feel that people are trying to hold me back, so I am not able to tell people the real. I want to tell them to hold onto yourself and be real, carry your cross with you for life. You have to cherish your soul. Those are the kinds of things that I would love to talk about, but people are frightened by those things and a lot of people have been taken down when they start to speak out on these things. Hang on to who you are, never abandon ship. Keep it real, that’s really all it is. It’s very serious to me. We can always get a lot more in depth in it, but if people don’t understand then I’d be happy to clarify it for them.

HHDX: Your albums always seem to have some sort of religious symbolism to them that imply some sort of internal conflict – do you feel as your life is a reflection of your work?

Bizzy Bone: I don’t know if I ever felt that my life is a reflection of my work. I feel that life is life and that I’ve held onto the things that have happened in my life. No matter what though, spirituality is the thing. It has always been about that. That’s what everything in my life is to me. That’s the only thing you need. You need friends and family, but if everyone is on the same accord then we’ll have peace. People can breathe a little bit easier once they’ve been forged through fire. It’s really all it is. I’m waiting for my crew to call me as we speak. I mean when they came out to Houston to see me, I wasn’t ready. At different times, people weren’t ready when the opportunity presented itself. Everyone needs that same room, but at the end of the day – we’ll be able to get it together.

I’ve put out my number to all the entourages that they have and for some reason they can’t get in touch with me. The entourages have sabotaged the relationships. And when they get fired, they threaten some fatal attraction shit. They shouldn’t let those people guide them, they should let God guide us, we’re supposed to be together and do this the right way. Let us get ourselves together by the grace of God. Then when it’s time, we’ll be able to speak to the hanger’s on as a crew. But no one feels me on that, and people think that I’m crazy. I’ve been wild from jump-street. I had children at 14 years old. This was before we put out our first album. I have had responsibilities since the beginning.

HHDX: After more than 10 years in the Industry, both as a part of a group and solo – what do you think you’ll be remembered for in Hip-Hop when it’s all said and done?

Bizzy Bone: I don’t know if Hip-Hop will ever remember us. I see murals everywhere – dedicated to Jam Master Jay, Biggie, and ‘Pac and I don’t think we’ll ever see Bone on one of them. To make the impact that we’ve made… that everyone has said that we have made, but no one is appreciative of that. It’s going to continue to dwindle until we realize that we need to do what we need to do to get it going. We’re not lawyers, but we can lawyer ourselves. We can build for ourselves to get this thing going in the right direction. Because when it’s all said and done, if Bone were to never have another hit, the hanger’s on are just going to leech onto someone else anyways.