It’s the eighth of the month, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Hollywood ceremony took place on Wednesday afternoon (July 8), and all five members of the legendary Cleveland-bred rap crew were present.
Fat Joe, radio icon Big Boy and Ice-T spoke during the presentation on behalf of the group, while Katt Williams, Lil Eazy-E, Ray J and Ras Kass were also in attendance.
“They say I exaggerate,” Joe joked. “But what if I told you, I’ve been to 10 of these and I’ve never seen people out in the street like they are for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony right now.”
Joey Crack appreciated that Bone Thugs welcomed him into the fold and never belittled him while they were dominating the rap game and he was trying to find his footing. “I owe a great deal to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony,” he said. “These guys went and they was the Michael Jacksons. They went and sold like 30 million records; I sold like two copies. They never acted funny with me.”
Ice-T stepped to the podium and took a moment to applaud the fact that all the members of Bone Thugs were present and healthy so they could get their flowers. The West Coast gangster rap pioneer commended Bone Thugs’ originality, ushering a new wave of blending rapping with singing.
“Our era of hip-hop, Fat Joe, you had to be original. You couldn’t sound like anybody else. When Bone Thugs hit the scene, they were like nothing we had ever heard,” Ice-T said. “When you see five cats that can all rap that good similarly, I’m like, ‘Where did these n—as come from? Cleveland.”
Krayzie Bone, Bizzy Bone, Layzie Bone, Wish Bone and Flesh-N-Bone each spoke at the ceremony, showing love to their families and thanking the fans for supporting them on this fruitful journey for over three decades.
“All I ever wanted to see was my homeboys successful, man,” Layzie Bone said. “All I ever wanted in life was for us to prosper… Thank y’all for coming out, thank y’all for supporting us. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, we are brothers.”
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony put Cleveland hip-hop on the map after signing to Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records in the mid-90s before the N.W.A. co-founder’s passing.
Bone Thugs topped the Billboard 200 with 1995’s E. 1999 Eternal and 1997’s The Art of War. The Cleveland crew held the top slot on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks with their Eazy-E tribute anthem “Tha Crossroads” in 1996.
Watch the full Walk of Fame ceremony below.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
