In the early ‘90s, when the Midwest had generated few hip-hop stars, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony came out of Cleveland, Ohio, with an innovative sound that placed them at the forefront of pop culture: combining singing with rapping. The quintet, led by the distinctive voices of Bizzy Bone and Krayzie Bone, could spit with breathtaking speed on gritty tales like “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” over funky West Coast beats their mentor Eazy-Z selected from Ruthless Records producers like DJ U-Neek. But their voices also came together for sumptuous harmonies on ballads like the heartbreaking “Tha Crossroads”.