Layzie Bone Talks to Press in Anticipation of BTNH’s Second Manila Show

Since 1995, rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (BTNH) has enjoyed enormous worldwide success for their unique brand of hip-hop, with them winning a Grammy in 1997 for their song “Tha Crossroads” and with About.com ranking them #12 von their list of the “25 Best Rap Groups of All Time,”and also MTV calling them “the most melodic hip-hop group of all time.”

Second Manila Concert

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is back in Manila for their second concert, this time for the benefit of the victims of super-typhoon Haiyan. “It feels great to be back,” says Layzie Bone. “It’s great to be back to perform for our fans, but this time we’ll be doing it to help, in our own way, the victims of the typhoon.”

Perfect Timing and leaving BTNH

Layzie Bone just finished work on his eighth solo album entitled Perfect Timing. With this, rumors have been circulating that he has left the hip-hop group.

“I’d like to clarify this thing that is going around that I left Bone Thugs. I was just misquoted at the last interview that I did. I can never leave Bone. I have a brother, Flesh-n-Bone, and a cousin, Wish, in Bone. My best friend, Krayzie, is in Bone, and my mother even sort of adopted Bizzy into the family. We’re family. You can never leave family. I’m just out right now, focusing on my solo career—trying to spread my wings and develop my own personal style.”  

Still a Simple Man despite All the Success

With the rapper enjoying huge success in his musical career, he is asked about what he does with his free time. “When I’m not recording or performing in shows, I just like to chill. I love playing basketball and playing Xbox with my kids.” He adds, “Well, aside from the music, I’m busy with my own clothing line, if you can call it that. Because my name is Howse, I kind of focused on house-wear. We already came out with this line of pajamas, because you know, I’m ‘lazy.’ We’re also coming up with our own line of lingerie for the ladies.”

Music and Technology

Of all the BTNH members, Layzie Bone is the most active on social media, with him having his own Twitter and Instagram accounts. “It’s great what they have today, especially with all this new technology like Twitter and Facebook. I can be sitting right there in Cleveland, and with just a push of a button, I can be sending you some songs or beats with just a push of a button from my phone. It’s also a great way to communicate with the people, our fans ;  there are actually no boundaries or limitations to what you can do.”

Hip-Hop and the Message behind the Music

With all that is happening to hip-hop, with it evolving and changing day-to-day with the emergence of new artists and styles, we ask Layzie how he feels with this change. “I like what’s happening to hip-hop nowadays. There are a lot of new things and developments. There’s the appearance of new ways of expressing yourself and appreciating music.” BTNH has been a major influence in the musical development of a whole generation of rappers, here and abroad, to which he reacts, “Well, what can I say? All I can do is to feel honored for how people have been appreciating our music. It is really unreal when you think of […] how a simple boy from the streets of Cleveland influenced a whole group of artists and musicians. It’s just an honor.”

“Music should always have a message behind it. To all the young artists, you should always try to push a message. Go and write songs and tell your story.” 

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is performing on June 11, 2014 at the Mall of Asia Arena. Event poster from the official Facebook event page, where you can also find ticketing details. 

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