Bone Thugs E. 1999 Eternal-Top 5 Album of All Time

[JustCKing]

Monthly listeners can be misleading. Don't differentiate between someone listening to 3 of your tracks or 30. So it's no surprise Busta has a lot of monthly listeners. First ten years from his solo debut he had 5 platinum albums and two gold and outside Anarchy they all had at least one massive hit. His albums may not have been going 3-4x plat but he was a hit making machine far as singles. Far as being timeless, most those tracks hold up extremely well.

I agree that monthly listeners can be misleading, which was part of my point to begin with. Streaming itself can be misleading depending on how you're applying the information. In your case, it was to how timeless the music is, which is misleading because there are factors that affect streaming that have nothing to do with how timeless it is.

Regardless of how many hits Busta had in the 90's, he is still outstreaming contemporaries who sold far more than him in the 90's and the '00's. There isn't a rhyme or reason as to why Busta is out streaming DMX and Nas even though they sold considerably more in the 90's and '00's than Busta even when he had bigger hits. Again, if we went by your logic, his music is more timeless.

2001 is an iconic album and definitely a timeless one too. It's also about as new as a 90s album can possibly be since it dropped in November 1999, that's another factor. Regardless of what the charts say about singles you heard that album everywhere at parties and playing out of cars through summer 2000 at least and a lot of those songs still loved and well known 20 years later. It has the Eminem factor too. A lot of these Eminem stans barely listen to rap outside Em but they fukk with 2001 and 50's first two albums because of the connection

Do people really look at 2001 as an iconic album though? If people gave a list of Top 50 albums from the 90's, I don't see that one cracking it. I think 2001 is a classic. It's definitely one of my favorite albums, but I still see a lot of albums that people would put in front of it. I mean, even on here, there's people who have argued that it's not even a classic.

I don't see the Eminem factor playing much into that. The biggest song from the album doesn't even feature Eminem.

 

[JustCKing]

With Bone, fact is they were huge for about 5 years but nobody's really cared about them for 20 years. Not just about streaming stats but that does tell part the story. Look at the venues they been performing at the last 20 years. Unless they opening for a bigger act, they mostly been performing at 1000-2000 seat venues max and state fairs

I wouldn't say that nobody's cared about them for 20 years. They had a high peak and gradually declined.

I remember having a conversation in middle school like 5 months after Art of War dropped. He was telling me how Bone was about to switch up and do music for white folk. I laughed it off, but that summer I was watching The Box and there was Bone with a song for the Toy Story soundtrack. It was a remake of "War". Then there was the Mo Thugs single "Ghetto Cowboy" which featured Powder P. I remember BTNHResurrection being highly anticipated, but it quietly went platinum with no real hit. That was pretty much a wrap for them.

Underneath all of it, this group has always gone through internal turmoil that killed opportunities. There was fighting with Tomica, dropping albums without all the members, Bizzy's story airing on America's Most Wanted, etc.

People still care about the music, specifically the EP and E. 1999.

 

[Mike Wins]

I agree that monthly listeners can be misleading, which was part of my point to begin with. Streaming itself can be misleading depending on how you're applying the information. In your case, it was to how timeless the music is, which is misleading because there are factors that affect streaming that have nothing to do with how timeless it is.

Regardless of how many hits Busta had in the 90's, he is still outstreaming contemporaries who sold far more than him in the 90's and the '00's. There isn't a rhyme or reason as to why Busta is out streaming DMX and Nas even though they sold considerably more in the 90's and '00's than Busta even when he had bigger hits. Again, if we went by your logic, his music is more timeless.



Do people really look at 2001 as an iconic album though? If people gave a list of Top 50 albums from the 90's, I don't see that one cracking it. I think 2001 is a classic. It's definitely one of my favorite albums, but I still see a lot of albums that people would put in front of it. I mean, even on here, there's people who have argued that it's not even a classic.

I don't see the Eminem factor playing much into that. The biggest song from the album doesn't even feature Eminem.

I'm not arguing streaming is everything. It's one component. With Bone their streaming numbers are unimpressive for an act with multiple 4x platinum albums from the mid to late 90s. Of the two group albums they released the last decade, one didn't even touch the top 200 and the other peaked at #181. They can only play small venues as a headlining act. There's not really an angle you can take to argue they have any relevance or that their music has carried over to the future generations of rap fans the way their peers has

2001 is absolutely an iconic album, at least on the west coast. Far as the Eminem factor it's not so much about what songs he's on. Although What's The Difference and Forgot About Dre are two of the more popular songs. It's that a lot of his "non-rap" stans and stans in general fukk with Dre and 50 heavily off the close association. Not just tracks he's on.

Far as Busta, Nas and DMX, we talking 3 acts who have older fanbases that probably own all or most of their albums from their prime days. But Busta's music especially the hits is more in line with what the streaming generations fukk with than Nas or DMX so I'm not surprised he does well. His hit singles probably pop up on a lot more random club and party oriented playlists than Nas or DMX. And those tracks with Janet and Mariah still massive

 

[JustCKing]

I'm not arguing that streaming is the be all end all. It's one component. With Bone their streaming numbers are unimpressive for an act with multiple 4x platinum albums from the mid to late 90s. Of the two group albums they released the last decade, one didn't even touch the top 200 and the other peaked at #181. They can only play small venues as a headlining act. There's not really an angle you can take to argue they have any relevance or that their music has resonated with future generations of rap fans.

They also dropped two of their 4X platinum albums in less than a year a part. Art of War was the beginning of the decline and it was double album that dropped two years after the album they peaked with. Why is this significant? Double albums count twice toward certification, so we see they were basically selling half of what they sold in 94 and 95 by 1997.

Far as Busta, Nas and DMX, we're talking 3 acts who have older fanbases that probably own all or most of their albums from their prime days. But Busta's music especially the hits is more in line with what the streaming generations fukk with than Nas or DMX so I'm not surprised he does well. His hit singles probably pop up on a lot more random club and party oriented playlists than Nas or DMX. And those tracks with Janet and Mariah still massive

Nas I can understand, but you can't really say that any of Busta's joints is coming up as randomly as X's "Party Up". And you're really going to argue that Busta's music is more in tune with the streaming era? That's nearly saying his music is more timeless.

 

[JustCKing]

2001 is absolutely an iconic album, at least on the west coast. Far as the Eminem factor it's not so much about what songs he's on. Although What's The Difference and Forgot About Dre are two of the more popular songs. It's that a lot of his "non-rap" stans and stans in general fukk with Dre and 50 heavily off the close association. Not just tracks he's on.

Iconic is something that is beyond classic. Do people really put 2001 in the same echelon of Chronic, Doggystyle, Illmatic, Ready To Die, etc.

 

[Mike Wins]

Nas I can understand, but you can't really say that any of Busta's joints is coming up as randomly as X's "Party Up". And you're really going to argue that Busta's music is more in tune with the streaming era? That's nearly saying his music is more timeless.

Party Up is one song though. Busta had Woo Hah, Put Your Hands, Dangerous, Fire It Up, Gimme Some More, What's It Gonna Be, Break Ya Neck, Pass The Courvoisier, I Know What You Want, Touch It.

And I would say for sure Busta's music was timeless and in a lot of ways ahead of its time. I listened to When Disaster Strikes and Genesis start to finish a month or so back. Still sounds fresh. The production on Genesis especially sounded ahead of its time, that had multiple tracks that could easily be hits if they dropped tomorrow.

Nas and DMX music has aged well too they just don't have as many tracks with crossover appeal. But comparing them to Bone, Bone's music especially the singles had more crossover appeal. But both of them doing a lot more streams than Bone. And Nas got the ability to play bigger venues as a headliner, and his new music still do very respectable numbers especially as a fully independent artist. Busta's last album did good numbers too, hit #7 as a fully independent release

 

[JustCKing]

Party Up is one song though. Busta had Woo Hah, Put Your Hands, Dangerous, Fire It Up, Gimme Some More, What's It Gonna Be, Break Ya Neck, Pass The Courvoisier, I Know What You Want, Touch It.

Most of those Busta joints definitely weren't as crossover as "Party Up" and you know that. "Party Up" is a joint that would be huge in a sporting event, a cookout, a Bar Mitzvah, the whitest of white office Party, etc. Can't say the same for those Busta joints.

And I would say for sure Busta's music was timeless and in a lot of ways ahead of its time. I listened to When Disaster Strikes and Genesis start to finish a month or so back. Still sounds fresh. The production on Genesis especially sounded ahead of its time, that had multiple tracks that could easily be hits if they dropped tomorrow.

I didn't say Busta's music wasn't timesless or thatbit wasn't ahead of its time. That was never the argument. I only used Bista as an example to show hiw inconsistent it was to say one artist's music was more timeless than another's based on how well theybperform at streaming now in comparison to selling less records than their contemproraries during their intial runs.

Nas and DMX music has aged well too they just don't have as many tracks with crossover appeal. But comparing them to Bone, Bone's music especially the singles had more crossover appeal. But both of them doing a lot more streams than Bone. And Nas got the ability to play bigger venues as a headliner, and his new music still do very respectable numbers especially as a fully independent artist. Busta's last album did good numbers too, hit #7 as a fully independent release

The most crossover Bone song is "Tha Crossroads" and "1st of The Month".

To DMX and Nas credit, both were still selling records in the 00's. More records than Bone was selling at the time. X was selling about the same as Bone and eclipsed their sales with And Then There Was X. They don't have an album that sold as much as that one.

 

[JustCKing]

Until this thread, I never paid attention to streaming numbers. It is interesting to say the least. I looked up the big three of the teen R&B scene of the 90s and got this:

Brandy- 4.9 million monthly listeners. Her most popular song, "The Boy Is Mine" has 129 million listens. In the 90's, Brandy's debut went 4X platinum. Her sophomore album went 5X platinum.

Monica- 3.8 million monthly listeners. Her most popular song is also "The Boy Is Mine", which has 129 million listens. In the 90's, her debut and sophomore albums went 3X platinum.

Aaliyah- 5.2 million monthly listeners (she only had one album on streaming platforms until August 2021. Most of her catalog only became available last August). Her most streamed song only has 68 million listens ("Are You That Somebody"). In the 90's her debut and sophomore albums were 2X platinum.

 

[mobbinfms]

With Bone their streaming numbers are unimpressive for an act with multiple 4x platinum albums from the mid to late 90s.

This is exactly it.

 

[the cool]

Their falloff is crazy. People today don't really care for Bone Thugs anymore.

I personally think their music is fukking godly. Same league as Michael Jackson and 2Pac.

Bone thugs shoot em up and dayz of our lives don't get talked about enough

 

[mobbinfms]

To DMX and Nas credit, both were still selling records in the 00's. More records than Bone was selling at the time. X was selling about the same as Bone and eclipsed their sales with And Then There Was X. They don't have an album that sold as much as that one.

Believe it or not, X doesn’t have a top ten single. Which is crazy because his songs off the first and third abum were all over the place and all over the radio.
Crossroads, on the other hand, was probably the biggest hip hop song of the 90s. #1 for 8 weeks.

 

[mobbinfms]

Bone thugs shoot em up and dayz of our lives don't get talked about enough

Days of our Livez
Bone somehow ran 96 without and album

 

[Mike Wins]

Until this thread, I never paid attention to streaming numbers. It is interesting to say the least. I looked up the big three of the teen R&B scene of the 90s and got this:

Brandy- 4.9 million monthly listeners. Her most popular song, "The Boy Is Mine" has 129 million listens. In the 90's, Brandy's debut went 4X platinum. Her sophomore album went 5X platinum.

Monica- 3.8 million monthly listeners. Her most popular song is also "The Boy Is Mine", which has 129 million listens. In the 90's, her debut and sophomore albums went 3X platinum.

Aaliyah- 5.2 million monthly listeners (she only had one album on streaming platforms until August 2021. Most of her catalog only became available last August). Her most streamed song only has 68 million listens ("Are You That Somebody"). In the 90's her debut and sophomore albums were 2X platinum.

It make for an interesting conversation. But we gotta keep in mind we don't get the numbers for any services but Spotify, which only show each artist top 10, and YouTube where you can see the tracks but gotta know a lot of them have been removed or reposted and the count restarts.

Spotify only makes up about 30% of the market and the stats vary pretty widely based on demographic.

 

[JustCKing]

Another interesting stat is Boyz II Men. I know they are R&B, but they were the biggest selling R&B group of the 90's. They had an album that went 12X platinum and another album that went 9X platinum. They last album they dropped in the 90's was 2X platinum. They have 4.8 million monthly listeners. Compare that to Blackstreet. Their biggest album went 4X platinum. Their other albums only went platinum in the 90's. They have 4.7 million listeners.

 

[mobbinfms]

So you can see the play count for any song on Spotify if you use a desktop. Click on an artist page, then on an album and you can see play count for every song on the album.
@JustCKing go crazy
The play counts on some of these legendary album tracks are abysmal.
I don’t have time now to sit down and tally up E.1999 vs. The Infamous, but I will soon enough
If you don’t beat me to it.
A cursory glance tells me that perhaps Shook Ones alone, and certainly Shook Ons and Survival together outstream E.1999 as an album.