E. 1999 Eternal

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s blazing vocal cadences whizz throughout their debut like bullets from a machine gun. The Cleveland group combines those rattled-out syllables with the potent melodicism that would become their trademark. Having come up under the tutelage of L.A. pioneer Eazy-E, they pull from the darkest corners of G-funk, lacing their sound with mournful piano and sour whistles. The solemn “Tha Crossroads” is a doleful ode to Eazy, while “East 1999” offers a grimy paragon of hard-boiled gangsterism you can’t turn away from.