E. 1999 Eternal

E.1999 Eternal sold 307,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums charts. It remained at No. 1 in its second week on both charts, selling 222,000 copies. In its third week, E.1999 Eternal dropped to number 2 on the Billboard 200, behind Hootie & the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View, selling 162,000 copies. The album sold 123,000 copies in its fourth week and got outsold by The Show: The Soundtrack, dropping to No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. ==Critical reception==

Upon release, E. 1999 Eternal met with critical acclaim. Cheo H. Coker of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the group "has raised the stakes of the gangsta rap game, not only in terms of pure, gritty excess, but also in rhyme-style, cadence and delivery", concluding: "This is the kind of album that starts out good and gets better with repeated listenings—as the dark, subliminal references clear up. Easily one of the most worthwhile rap purchases of the year." Retrospectively, Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic described E. 1999 Eternal as "an impressive debut full-length that dismisses any notion that the group was merely a one-hit wonder", adding that it "maintains a consistent tone, one that's menacing and somber, produced entirely by DJ U-Neek, a Los Angeles-based producer who frames the songs with dark, smoked-out G-funk beats and synth melodies." The Source hailed E. 1999 Eternal as one of The Top 100 Rap Albums of 1990s. In a second thought review in Stylus Magazine, the album was described as "Lyrically speaking, Bone Thugs have much in common with countless mainstream rap acts. The themes running throughout E. 1999 Eternal are familiar—drugs, violent crime and death make regular appearances. It's the manner in which the lyrics are framed and delivered that makes the group such a bizarre proposition. Bone Thugs had a melodic flow—frequently delivered in unison—that bordered on singing. They could rap together at a lightning fast pace, without losing their sweetness." Stylus also praised producer DJ U-Neek for his production style on the album stating "The album was entirely produced by DJ U-Neek (although he did collaborate on some tracks), endowing cohesiveness to the unique Bone Thugs sound. U-Neek was, like the vocal group members of Bone Thugs, unorthodox in the rap field. It wouldn't be far off to describe him as a songwriter as well as a producer. He was always keen to flesh out interesting sounds—usually based around rumbling piano chords, mellotron and synthesised strings. Yet, the focus was largely on song craft and melody—the album frequently strays into gloomy territory, but never loses its sense of tunefulness. The beats were not particularly striking—usually low-key and sluggish, but the album's strengths are not rhythm-related." ==Track listing==

• Bone • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • Bone • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • U-Neek • Tony-C • Kenny McCloud }} • Bone • U-Neek }} • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • Bone • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • Bone • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • Bone • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • Bone • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • Bone • U-Neek }} • U-Neek • McCloud }} • Bone • U-Neek • McCloud }} • U-Neek • Bone }} • Bone • U-Neek • McCloud }} • U-Neek • Bone }} • Bone • U-Neek • Michael Powell}} • Bone • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • Bone • U-Neek }} • Bone • U-Neek }} • U-Neek • Bone }} • Bone • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • U-Neek • Tony-C }} • Bone • U-Neek • Poetic Hustla'z • Graveyard Shift • McCloud}} • U-Neek • McCloud }} }} • U-Neek • Tony-C }} }} ;Notes • signifies a co-producer • "Buddah Lovaz" transitions into "Die Die Die". • "Die Die Die" transitions into "Mr. Quija 2". Samples Appearances • Krayzie Bone appears on all tracks. • Layzie Bone appears on 17 tracks. • Bizzy Bone appears on 17 tracks. • Wish Bone appears on 14 tracks. • Flesh-n-Bone appears on 5 tracks. ==Personnel==

• Eric "Eazy-E" Wright - Executive Producer, Album Concept • D.J. U-Neek - Producer, Recording • Layzie Bone - Producer • Anne Catalino - Engineer • Aaron Connor - Engineer and Recording • Don Cunningham - Design and Art Direction • Tony Cowan - Recording • Madeleine Smith - Sample Clearance • Quentin Frost - Album Cover ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts ==Certifications==