03/10/04 | Exclusive Krayzie Bone Interview

       Here is an exclusive interview with Krayzie Bone. George Skoutakis recently caught up with the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony member in between his recording session for an exclusive interview for West Coast 2K to talk about various things going on in the rappers life right now. Krayzie talks candidly about his relationship with Bizzy Bone, his signing with West Coast label Ball'r Records, Eazy E, what the groups plans are in the future, what you can expect from his new album "Gemeni: Good vs Evil" and much more. Be on the lookout for Krayzie Bone's album dropping in the summer.

[ Click here to listen to the interview in audio. Krayzie took time when he was in the studio so his cell connection wasnt that great ]

Questions asked & interview conducted by George Skoutakis.

WC2K: How long till "Gemeni: Good vs Evil" comes out in stores?

Krayzie Bone: Probably a couple more months. Ill have it out by the summertime, like August, maybe September.


WC2K: How close are you done to recording the album?

Krayzie Bone: Im just about done with the album. I'm done with like 10 tracks on each side. Im done on one whole side and I'm almost done with the second side, you know.


WC2K: Is it gonna be a double or a single disc album, with an album title like this?

Krayzie Bone: Its gonna be a single disc. Ima have like 10 songs on each side, good and evil, and Ima have like 4 skits.


WC2K: What type of sound can we expect, like if you had to compare it to an older album?

Krayzie Bone: Man this sound right here it has the same Bone Thugs N Harmony element but in a different direction. More time spent on the album, and its a more mature sound.

WC2K: A lot of your fans ask you to do "E. 1999" style tracks. Obviously you have to evolve but what do you respond to them?

Krayzie Bone: Oh yeah you have to evolve but you gotta give your fans what they're used to. I got a little bit of that on the album. But you always gotta give a little bit what they're used to. Always.


WC2K: "Thug On Tha Line" had a lot of guest appearances, can we expect the same thing for "Gemini"?

Krayzie Bone: Oh yeah, with this one Im looking at a few guest appearances. Its gonna be big, Ima have a few like Scarface, I got a track from Lil Jon, trying to get a whole lotta stuff in the place.

WC2K: Have you picked your first single yet?

Krayzie Bone: Nah not really, we got 4 songs were trying to decide from for a single

WC2K: What kind of sound are you looking for the single. Alot is goin on with the Lil Jon crunk thing, are you looking for that too?

Krayzie Bone: Oh Yea Yea but Im not trying to get into that direction. Just like you said, a lot of people are going in that direction. Me, its gotta be me. I gotta come with the different shit like I always do.

WC2K: A lot of talk is going around about where the group is gonna sign. We heard rumours about Aftermath.

Krayzie Bone: Well right now we're trying to keep it on the hush hush right now, cause we haven't decided. Theres a couple opportunitys but we havent decided as a group yet. But we'll be coming with another album though, definitely and real soon.

WC2K: How soon do you think is that gonna be?

Krayzie Bone: At the end of this year.

WC2K: I dont know if you heard the interview Bizzy Bone did for btnhboard.com. He said something about wanting to sign with a black owned label. Is that something that is important to you as well?

Krayzie Bone: Man it doesnt make a difference to me, as long as the deal is right and everything is on the up and up. If its black owned or whatever.

WC2K: That brings me back to you. You picked Ball'r Records, a relatively unknown record label. Someone with a status like you in the rap game could have signed to a bigger label. Why did you chose Ball'r?

Krayzie Bone: Becauase, man, I’ve been caught up in the major system for a minute, you know what im saying. Yunno, you get hip to the games and the schemes. (Speaks to friend) Man, you start learning the system and you start recognizing what’s what. I was just feeling that with this company right here I would get the attention I need....I would be able to run and handle everything myself...In other words saying, if the project flops it would be my fault cause I'm doing everything you know what I'm saying?

WC2K: A lot of people dont understand the industry part of it. They see the bone bickering and the length of time between albums. What do you have to say to those that put the blame on you?

Krayzie Bone: Man, they just got to realize that they don’t really understand it or feel it unless they go through it themselves. But man, that’s just the game. It’s not just music, that’s why its called music business. First it’s music, then it’s the business.


WC2K: Musically you're still where you were in my opinion, you're still hitting. But on the mainstream some people use the word "falling off" for you guys cause you're not pushing as many units as you did before.

Krayzie Bone: Oh yeah I mean we been here for a while, everybody know that once we're all together in the studio, there's not one group that can fuck with Bone Thugs N Harmony. Bottom Line. No matter what time speaking, from 94 to 2004. Bottom line, aint nobody able to touch us. Thats why we still around, cause alotta people trying but they aint been able to do it how we do it. Thats why we always come back. We knew that our relationship with Ruthless was coming to a bitter sour end you know what I’m saying. So we chalked the last album off as a loss just to get off that motherufucker, you know what im saying?

WC2K: Yea thats perfect for my next question. Where you happy with the way "Thug World Order" turned out? Because personally, to tell you the truth I thought it would be a little bit better. I thought it was a good albun, I just didnt think it was a Bone quality album. What do you think of "Thug World Order" when you look back?

Krayzie Bone: Like I said, that was something we was trying to do, so we can get our walking papers man really. Just trying to finish up what we started.

WC2K: But on the flipside, who decided the final package? I've heard a couple tracks that were cut off that were just unbelievable.

Krayzie Bone: Man, thats where we were going through. The album we turned in was completely different. Shit came out and everything was changed and commercialized, they wanted to chase after "Tha Crossroads". Thats why the only thing we ended put on the whole fuckin album was that thing with Phil Collins. Motherfuckers was on that whole thing, "thats the crossroads".

WC2K: Has that gone gold or platinum yet?

Krayzie Bone: Yea gold.

WC2K: What pisses you off the most in the rap game right now?

Krayzie Bone: What I’m hearing. Thats the problem, I ain’t hearing nothing. I really can’t get into the music out here today. That’s why i listen to all old school shit. I still listen to the shit that inspired me to get into the game like the old shit. I can’t really get into shit these days. Because everybody is doing the same thing again. It’s just like a whole big ass machine. Shit is like corporate now. Everybody’s looking the same, everybody doing the same thing, using the same music. Shit, we need artists out here that are different and it’s only a handful, if its even a handful.


WC2K: How did that come about, you and Dead Prez hooking up?

Krayzie Bone: They was messin with Loud Records the same time I was with Loud. They wanted to do a song with me. I heard of the group and listened to their music and I liked what they were talking about. They dont just follow the trend. They speak their own, thats why I got down with them.


WC2K: Can you tell the people about the relationship with Bizzy in the past and right now?

Krayzie Bone: I think it was all blew out of proportion that me and Bizzy Bone had a problem. Back then I was hardly talking to him. It wasnt really no problem, the only problem I had was strictly business. As far as promoting these albums and such and such. The only problems I had with him only came to business. As far as personal, we aint never had no problems, no beef, nothing like that. It's just all music. But I understand he was doing what he was doing because of the whole situation with Ruthless Records. So I mean that was the whole reason everyone was off doing their thing because we had to create ways to get paid becuase we were'nt really getting paid from the Bone Thugs shit.

WC2K: But the 3 or 4, if you count Flesh, still maintained and did that. How much of a problem was it that Bizzy wasnt with you guys?

Krayzie Bone: Man it was a big problem at first. If one person in Bone aint acting right it affects the whole group. Cause we the kinda group where people ask for Bone Thugs N Harmony, they want Bone Thugs N Harmony. So we got Bone Thugs N Harmony and Bizzy aint here so of course they gonna be [..] if Layzie aint here [...] They are going to be asking where's the other member because people want to see all of us together. Thats how we came into the game, making feel everybody that we together. they are going to be asking where's the other member because people want to see all of us together



WC2K: I heard that Ruthless is releasing a Live & Uncut DVD with some of your performances. How much more material do you expect will they release?

Krayzie Bone: Man I dont even know. I aint got nothing to do with that, I dont even wanna know about it. They gonna do what they gonna do. We're on a totally different page, we aint even tripping and its gonna be our material out there. I really aint got nothing to do with it.

WC2K: Are you gonna pick it up?

Krayzie Bone: I don't know man, I'll get a copy somehow.

WC2K: How much does it bother you when you look back and see how fucked up that label became. And you guys tried and tried. What were the steps where you guys just said 'I quit, I cant anymore'?

Krayzie Bone: Man we just started noticing everything when Eazy E died. We basically knew where the company was going from right there. And then she came in and fired everybody, dropped all the artists. We were the only artists she kept. That shit. Then, she didn't have no vision. She didn't have the vision Eazy E had the vision for the company.

WC2K: Did you talk to anybody in the business who have been there before, I know MC Ren was still around at one point when you guys were at Ruthless. Did he give you any advice or anything like that, to move forward?

Krayzie Bone: Man, Naw man. Well MC Ren was pretty much a quiet dude. We hollered at him a couple times and he did tell us a couple things about what was going on with the company so whatever. I mean, Man, everybody’s gotta live and learn you know what im saying.


WC2K: That whole part is behind you and now your moving forward, each one of you is moving forward, signing new deals, doing what you gotta do. What can people expect from Krayzie Bone right now, going into the studio. I mean hunger wise. A lot of people lose their hunger, your 10 years into the game, where are you in terms of hunger?

Krayzie Bone: Man...I’m a couple steps up. I’m like 5 to 10 more steps up from the last album I put out. That’s like, you can tell when you listen to the songs. I’m not really trying to make mistakes, the whole album, the whole concept and everything.

WC2K: When you look at your career now, at the point your at, What are you most proud of?

Krayzie Bone: Man, just changing this whole rap game. Cause, regardless of what anybody says, its been speeded up.

WC2K: One thing I never understood is why you guys never got that respect. People will do their top 10's, people will talk about the most sold, nobody even ever brings you up even if the numbers are there in terms of albums sold. Why has Bone not gotten the respect they deserve?

Krayzie Bone: Because man.. Its just like man, they didn’t wanna believe it. Everybody didn’t want to believe it, but you see everybody is doing our shit now. Everybody is doing the same shit. I’ve been hearing motherfuckers using our same rhythm and all kinds of shit. It’s just like man, I ain’t tripping. Motherfuckers you know when they sit back and think about it, they know where it came from. Bottom Line.

WC2K: I know your busy now, so I’m going to end this interview by doing a name association. I’ll say a name and in a short sentence you tell me what you think of that person. Something that characterizes them.

WC2K: When I say Eazy-E, what do you think of first?

Krayzie Bone: Visionary

WC2K: Flesh N Bone

Krayzie Bone: Psychotic (laughs)

WC2K: What’s up with Flesh, Is he going to be out any time soon?

Krayzie Bone: Yeah man, we’re working on it, talking to some people, trying to pull some strings. Trying to get him up out of there.

WC2K: The last name I had on this list, because he’s blowing up. Twista. What’s up with him and Bone Thugs N Harmony?

Krayzie Bone: Twista? Oh yeah, he’s raw. Man, everybody gets their turn man. Everybody gets their turn. (Everything) goes back around you know what I’m saying. You just gotta stay in the game and have the patience and when your time has come just snatch it and move out with it.