Tha Crossroads

"Tha Crossroads"
Single by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
from the album E. 1999 Eternal
Released	April 1, 1996
Format	CD single
Recorded	1995
Genre	Midwest hip hop Soul R&B
Length	3:46
Label	Ruthless
Writer(s)	Bryon McCane II, Anthony Henderson, Steven Howse, Charles Scruggs
Certification	2x Platinum (RIAA)
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony singles chronology
"East 1999" (1995) "Tha Crossroads" (1996) "Days of Our Livez" (1996)

"Tha Crossroads" is a Grammy Award–winning song performed by the hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, dedicated to the late rap icon Eazy-E and released in 1996. It is one of the group's most popular songs to date, and their biggest selling single.

Background

Originally named "Crossroad," it wasn't until the group and their producer, DJ U-Neek, decided to remake the song that the name was changed. The song "Crossroad" was originally dedicated to Bone's deceased friends, but after the death of Eazy-E they decided to remake it as "Tha Crossroads". The original song now 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). The remake contained the line "And I'm askin' the good Lord 'Why?' and sigh It's I, he told me we lived to die" from the original. Bone's lightning fast rhymes are delivered softer than is usual for the group, without profanities and creating a sad and heartfelt effect. With soft instrumentals revolving around a sample of The Isley Brothers' "Make Me Say It Again Girl (Pts. 1 and 2)," the song has a sad yet quick tone to it. After receiving high praise for their song the group decided to add it to their already launched 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.

Remix

The official remix, "Tha Crossroads (Tha Flesh Flip Remix)", features the fifth member Flesh-n-Bone as well as new & old verses by the group's members, Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Bizzy Bone and Wish Bone.

Music video

The song was accompanied by a music video that 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 mountaintop. Additionally, an imposing man with sunglasses and a trench coat, akin to a Reaper, appears throughout the video. Bone are among the few who can see the man, and watch him as he gathers the souls of various individuals who are marked for death, such as a young man who leaves his distraught mother behind, Bone's friend Wally, Wish Bone's Uncle Charles, Eazy-E, and a newborn baby. The Reaper then leads the souls, with the baby in his arms, up a mountain and transforms into an angel, taking the deceased people to Heaven.

Track listings

Australian CD single

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

Official versions

• "Crossroad" (LP version; original version) - 3:27
• "Crossroad" (LP version - radio edit) - 3:33
• "Tha Crossroads" (D.J. U-Neek's Mo Thug remix) - 3:50
• "Tha Crossroads" (D.J. U-Neek's remix instrumental) - 3:48

Charts, sales and procession

Peak positions Chart (1996) Peak position Australian Singles Chart 15 Austrian Singles Chart 34 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart 28 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart 20 Dutch Singles Chart 5 French Singles Chart 29 Irish Singles Chart 6[1] New Zealand Singles Chart 1 Swedish Singles Chart 7 Swiss Singles Chart 19 UK Singles Chart 8[2] U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 1 U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles 1

End of year charts End of year chart (1996) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] 7 End of decade charts Chart (1990–1999) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] 25 Sales and certifications Country Certifications (sales thresholds) New Zealand Platinum United States 2x Platinum

Blazin' Squad version

"Crossroads"
Single by Blazin' Squad
from the album In the Beginning
B-side	"Offering" "Uproar"
Released	August 19, 2002
Format	CD single
Recorded	2002
Genre	Garage, hip-hop
Length	3:10 (Radio edit)
Label	East West Records
Blazin' Squad singles chronology
"Crossroads" (2002) "Love on the Line" (2002)

"Crossroads" became the first single for hip-hop/garage band Blazin' Squad. It became the band's only number one single, staying at the top spot for two weeks in August 2002. The track is the first to be taken from their debut album, In the Beginning. There are three versions of the song: a radio edit lasting 3:10 (which appears on their album), the full version (which includes extra instrumental section) lasting 3:50, and the extended cut (which includes two extra verses), lasting 3:48. The extended cut only appears on the promotional single.

Track listing

CD1

1. "Crossroads" (radio edit) - 3:10
2. "Uproar" - 3:25
3. "Crossroads" (enhanced video) - 3:45

CD2

1. "Crossroads" (full version) - 3:50
2. "Offering" - 3:20
3. "Crossroads" (TNT remix) - 3:50

Chart positions

Chart (2002)	Peak Position
German Singles Chart	82
Irish Singles Chart	13
UK Singles Chart	1

Chart successions

Preceded by "Round Round" by Sugababes

UK Singles Chart number one single August 31, 2002 (1 week)

Succeeded by "The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling)" by Atomic Kitten

References

1. ^ "Irish Singles Chart Archives". irishcharts.com. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved February 8, 2010. 
2. ^ "Chart Stats - Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - Tha Crossroads". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=24379. Retrieved May 16, 2010. 
3. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1996". http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1996. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 
4. ^ 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. http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=9w0EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&lr&rview=1&pg=RA1-PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved October 15, 2010. 

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1996 (U.S.)
• R&B number-one hits of 1996 (USA)
• List of number-one singles in 1996 (New Zealand)
• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)