Tha Crossroads—Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
#365Songs: March 13th
My kid discovered Rap and Hip-Hop a few months ago, and now he’s obsessed. He won’t allow any other music, except Glass Animals which has been on repeat for whatever reason since 2020. It started with Eminem, moved to Kendrick, Juice WRLD, Polo G, XXXTENTACION, J. Cole, 21 Savage, Travis Scott, Denzel Curry — fortunately no Drake, but refers to Lil Yachty and Frank Ocean as “mid.” The problem is, he plays the same damn 30 songs on repeat for months. We’re well into the plural side of the word “months.”
Here’s the other thing about the kid: he’s 13, and gets all embarrassed in front of his friends — even though he knows I know music, and that we often appreciate the same things. So a few weeks ago we were in the car with two of his friends, and I used my “this is my car and I’m the fucking adult” license to introduce some new music to this crew. So I said, “Listen to this. They’re from my era, and also from Cleveland.”
The kid said, “Ugh. Please don’t.”
I found Tha Crossroads by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, hit play, and let the moment take over. The kid sat there, pouting, shrugging, sighing, his face red, glancing back at his friends with an apology. But I noticed his foot tapping, saw a little smile lurking on his hormonal face, I saw the spark. So after he re-hijacked the playlist again — back to the repetition — he leaned over and whispered, “Play Crossroads again.” And I said, “You’re very capable of changing the song.” And he said, “You do it.”
And that was his noncommittal way of saying, “Oh damn, this shit is good.”
And here we are, 5,489 listens later.
What is it about this song, though, that felt like an heirloom to pass down a generation? Well, first of all, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are from Cleveland, a town that in recent years can count their global success stories on one hand. I grew up there in the worst of times: a river that burned for a moment but still simmers in pop culture, sports teams that lose in dramatic fashion, a population exodus, depressed economy, cultural segregation, and a values system rooted in Old World religion and out-of-touch social norms. To be a sensitive boy who loved art and culture and books and music was a thing to hide rather than celebrate. Through that hiding, though, I often missed out on discovering the very art I craved.
I don’t know when I first heard Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, but it definitely wasn’t in those years when we shared the same Cleveland—definitely wasn’t in a car with my Dad when I was 13. I suspect I was in college, at a party, not long after the song gained traction. It was an instant hit, and topped the charts at a time when the top of the charts didn’t sound like that. The song was dedicated to their mentor, West Coast legend Eazy-E — I recently learned a fun fact that they’re the only band to have ever collaborated with Eazy-E, Tupac, AND the Notorious B.I.G. Not a bad story to tell.
Lil Eazy long gone
Really wish he could come home
But when it’s time to die, gotta go, bye bye
All a lil’ thug could do was cry, cry
Why’d they kill my dog?
Damn, man, I miss my Uncle Charles, y’all
And he shouldn’t be gone
In front of his home, what they did to Boo was wrong
Oh so wrong, was so wrong
Gotta hold on, gotta stay strong
When the day comes
Better believe Bone got a shoulder you can lean on, lean on
Tha Crossroads might be the most melodious, upbeat sad song ever written, but it is most definitely a song about grief, about memorial, about the people we’ve lost along the way. They memorialize old mentors, friends, family, but also acknowledge that they share in grief together, that they’ll never be alone until they go too.
Now follow me, roll stroll
Whether it’s Hell or it’s Heaven
Come let’s go take a visit to the people that’s long gone, they rest: Wally, Eazy, Terry, Boo
Instead of keepin’ up with they family
Exactly how many days we got lastin’?
While you laughin’ we’re passin’ passin’ away
God, rest our souls
’Cause I know I might meet you up at the crossroads
Y’all know, y’all forever got love from them Bone Thugs, baby
The kid’s likely not hearing all this sadness, all this loss. He just hears the hooks, the harmonizing, the rapid fire lyrics, the smooth R&B. He doesn’t hear the claustrophobia of Cleveland life, the lack of opportunities, the need to flee to be free, the mounting losses, the hopelessness of growing up in a depressed city. He doesn’t hear the desperate desire to reunite with the dead, the clock ticking down until it’s your turn. And that’s the beauty of this song, the beauty of so many upbeat sad songs: they lift us as they bring us down, remind us that in many cultures a funeral song isn’t about mourning but moving on.
Hey and we pray, and we pray, and we pray, and we pray
Everyday, everyday, everyday, everyday
And we pray, and we pray, and we pray, and we pray
Everyday, everyday, everyday, everyday
See you at the crossroads, crossroads, crossroads
So you won’t be lonely
See you at the crossroads, crossroads, crossroads
So you won’t be lonely
See you at the crossroads, crossroads, crossroads
So you won’t be lonely
See you at the crossroads, crossroads, crossroads
