"The 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 1995. It is one of the group's
most popular songs to date, and their biggest selling.
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 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 charts in several countries, including the Billboard Hot
100 and the UK Singles Chart. It has been certified 2X Platinum
in the United States.
The official remix, "Tha Crossroads (Tha Flesh Flip Remix)",
features latest member Flesh-n-Bone and new & old verses by
the group's members, Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Bizzy Bone and
Wish Bone.
The song was accompanied by a music video that opens with
the female vocal group Tre 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 black 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.
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.