E. 1999 Eternal

E. 1999 Eternal is the second studio album by American hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, released July 25, 1995, on Ruthless Records. The album was released four months after the death of rapper Eazy-E, the group’s mentor and the executive producer of the album. Both the album and single “Tha Crossroads” are dedicated to him.

Following up on the surprise success of their breakthrough single “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” it became a popular album and received positive reviews from music critics, earning praise for the group’s melodic rapping style. The album title is a portmanteau of the then-future year 1999 and Cleveland’s eastside neighborhood centering on East 99th Street and St. Clair Avenue where the group is based.

The album became the group’s best-selling album, with over six million copies sold in the United States and ten million worldwide. It topped the US Billboard 200 for two consecutive weeks. The album was nominated for the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, ultimately losing to Naughty by Nature’s Poverty’s Paradise at the 1996 Grammy Awards.

In 2015, the group toured in support of the 20th anniversary of the album, performing it in its entirety for the first time.