Thug Mentality 1999 is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Krayzie Bone. It was released April 6, 1999, on Ruthless Records, Relativity Records and Mo Thugs Records.

Thug Mentality 1999
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 6, 1999
Recorded1997–1998
Studio
Genre
Length134:12
Label
Producer
Krayzie Bone chronology
Thug Mentality 1999
(1999)
Thug on da Line
(2001)
Singles from Thug Mentality 1999
  1. "Thug Mentality"
    Released: March 20, 1999
  2. "Paper"
    Released: October 1999

The double-disc album featured a large selection of guest appearances, including Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Mariah Carey, The Marley Brothers, Big Pun, Fat Joe, Cuban Link, Gangsta Boo, E-40, 8Ball & MJG, Kurupt, Treach and Snoop Dogg.

The album was supported by two singles: "Thug Mentality" and "Paper". The album's lead single, titled "Thug Mentality" was released on March 20, 1999. The song was produced by Michael Seifert, it peaked at number 47 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and at number 36 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay.

Thug Mentality 1999 debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with 140,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on May 10, 1999.[1] The album has sold 1,000,000 copies in the United States. The albums marks the third solo album by a member of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

Background edit

The album featured a large selection of guest appearances, including singer Mariah Carey and rappers Snoop Dogg, Big Pun and more.

In an interview with HipHopDX, Krayzie Bone spoke on the creation of the album:

I’d have to say that was the easiest album to make because I had so much material and so much stuff backed up. We was fresh, still not that far from being on the streets. I still had a lot of material that I had that I wanted to get off my chest. It was a breeze. A lot of those tracks, I had the ideas [first] and then I went in and laid them straight out. Some of the stuff was from what we didn’t use from Art Of War. On Art Of War, I would basically start the songs off and everyone else would just come in and do what they do. What dudes didn’t use, I just kept stashed away and when it was time work on my album, I just brought them out.[2]

Krayzie Bone wrote and recorded over 150 songs for the album, of which thirty-eight made the album's final cut as a double album.

Singles edit

The album's lead single, titled "Thug Mentality" was released on March 20, 1999. The song was produced by Michael Seifert. It peaked at number 16 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and at number 31 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay.[3]

The album's second single, titled "Paper" was released in October 1999. The song was produced by Krayzie Bone himself. The song's accompanying music video was later released that year.

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[5]
RapReviews5/10[6]

Thug Mentality 1999 was met with generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave Thug Mentality 1999 a 3/5 rating and wrote: "Krayzie doesn't hesitate to accentuate the already smooth surfaces of his music. Some of these cuts are positively smoove, which stands in direct contrast to the gangstafied lyrics, but that's always been a part of the Bone trademark". He also criticized the excessive number of songs that made the final cut on the album and he wrote: "Krayzie tries to keep it interesting by varying the flow, never putting too many similar tracks next to each other, but who the hell can make it through 38 tracks of this without a breather, even if some cuts are skits? It may be a cliche to say that this double-record would have been much more potent if it was trimmed to a single disc, but that doesn't make it less true, especially since there are enough songs to make a very good record, possibly one of the best things Krayzie has been involved with".[4] Entertainment Weekly gave Thug Mentality 1999 a B+ rating and wrote: "Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony’s main man gets millennial with a 38-track double CD, the best solo release so far from one of the Ohio speed rappers".[5] RapReviews gave Thug Mentality 1999 a 5/10 rating and wrote: "Krayzie displays a wide range of flows and deliveries, often on single tracks. The opener "Heated Heavy" is impressive because it features quite possibly the fastest rapping I've ever heard—if there was any question, Krayzie could give Twista a run for his money any day."[6]

Commercial performance edit

Thug Mentality 1999 debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with 140,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in May 10, 1999.[1] The album has sold 1,000,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing edit

Disc one edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro (Thug Invasion)"Anthony Henderson 2:00
2."Heated Heavy"HendersonKrayzie Bone3:07
3."Paper"Krayzie Bone4:32
4."The Messenger (Skit)"Henderson 2:20
5."Payback Iz A Bitch" (featuring Bam)
  • Henderson
  • E. Townsend
  • T. Gray
Erik "E" Nordquist3:39
6."Thugline" (featuring Relay)
  • Henderson
  • L. Wright
  • D. Lackey
  • A. Lackey
  • V. Bahar
  • R. Coes
Nightfiend4:09
7."Dummy Man (Skit)" 0:29
8."Dummy Man"
Romeo Antonio3:12
9."Thugz All Ova Da World" (featuring Treach)
Nightfiend3:36
10."Street People" (featuring Niko)
  • Henderson
  • N. Williams
  • E. Nordquist
Erik "E" Nordquist4:31
11."Pimpz, Thugz, Hustlaz & Gangstaz" (featuring 8Ball & MJG & Layzie Bone)5:14
12."Da Bullshit (Skit)"Henderson 0:37
13."Drama"
  • Henderson
  • T. Cowan
Tony "C"3:26
14."World War (Twista & Speedknot Mobstaz Diss)"
  • Henderson
  • E. Nordquist
Erik "E" Nordquist3:03
15."The War Iz On" (featuring Snoop Dogg, Kurupt & Layzie Bone)
  • Steve Pageot
  • Dewey "Duke" Sanders
4:31
16."When I Die" (featuring Fat Joe, Big Pun & Cuban Link)4:03
17."Thug Alwayz (Crucial Conflict & Do or Die Diss)" (featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)4:22
18."Thug Mentality"
  • Henderson
  • M. Seifert
Michael Seifert4:22

Disc two edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Murda Won't Stop (Skit)"Henderson 2:15
2."Where My Thugz At"
DJ U-Neek4:18
3."Smokin' Budda"
  • Henderson
  • G. Moss
  • D. Hall
  • J. Oates
Gusto "40" Moss3:41
4."Here We Come" (featuring Kneight Riduz)
  • Henderson
  • R. Coes
Nightfiend2:49
5."Try Me"
  • Henderson
  • A. Marlow
Alex Marlow4:47
6."Theze Dayz" (featuring K-Mont, Asu & Bam)
  • Henderson
  • T. Gray
  • E. Britt
  • J. Hargrove
  • E. Nordquist
Erik "E" Nordquist3:18
7."Silent Warrior"
  • Henderson
  • R. Antonio
Romeo Antonio4:31
8."Shoot The Club Up"Henderson
  • Anthony President
  • Brainz
2:58
9."Silence" (featuring The Graveyard Shift)Henderson
  • Tombstone
  • Romeo Antonio
2:32
10."Look At You Now (Skit)"Henderson 4:57
11."Won't Ez Up Tonight"
  • Henderson
  • R. Coes
Nightfiend2:11
12."Sad Song (Skit)"Henderson 3:30
13."I Still Believe/Pure Imagination" (featuring Mariah Carey)
Damizza4:07
14."We Starvin'" (featuring E-40 & Gangsta Boo)
T-Mix4:07
15."Smoke & Burn" (featuring Up In Clouds)
  • Henderson
  • L. Jones
  • Krayzie Bone
  • Leiahlola Jones
4:09
16."Power" (featuring Thug Queen)
  • Henderson
  • K. Greer
  • Krayzie Bone
  • Erick "E" Nordquist[a]
3:54
17."That's The Way"
  • Henderson
  • Michael Seifert
Michael Seifert3:25
18."Armageddon" (featuring Souljah Boy, Mo! Hart, Thug Queen & Felecia)
  • Henderson
  • R. Antonio
  • W. Lyons
Romeo Antonio4:16
19."Murda Mo'"
  • Henderson
  • A. Dudley
  • T. Horn
  • J. Jeczalik
  • G. Logan
  • P. Morley
Krayzie Bone5:35
20."Revolution" (featuring The Marley Brothers)
  • Henderson
  • Stephen Marley
  • Damian Marley
  • Julian Marley
4:17

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an co-producer

Sample credits

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[13] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
United States April 6, 1999 cassette Relativity Records [14]
April 6, 1999 CD [14]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. 1999-05-10. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  2. ^ "Krayzie Bone: "It Seemed Like The Devil Was Really Against Me"". HipHopDx. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  3. ^ "Krayzie Bone - Chart history". Billboard. 1999-05-01. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  4. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Krayzie Bone: Thug Mentality 1999 - Review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Diehl, Matt (April 9, 1999). "Krayzie Bone: Thug Mentality 1999 - Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  6. ^ a b T, Pete. "Krayzie Bone Thug Mentality 1999 review". Rap reviews. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  7. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 158.
  8. ^ "Charts.nz – Krayzie Bone – Thug Mentality 1999". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  9. ^ "Krayzie Bone Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  10. ^ "Krayzie Bone Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
  11. ^ "Billboard 200 – Year End Chart - Krayzie Bone". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  12. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  13. ^ "American album certifications – Krayzie Bone – Thug Mentality". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Krayzie Bone – Thug Mentality 1999". Discogs (US). Retrieved April 16, 2017.