"Tha Crossroads" is a song written and performed by hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, released as a single in April 1996. The song is dedicated to the group's mentor, the late

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...

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Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

, and other family members. The song was the highest-debuting rap single when it debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching number one the following week and staying there for eight consecutive weeks. It also reached number one in New Zealand, where it was the most successful single of 1996. In 1997, the song won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

Background

"Crossroad" originally debuted in 1995 on the ''

E. 1999 Eternal ''E. 1999 Eternal'' is the second studio album by American hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, released July 25, 1995, on Ruthless Records. The album was released four months after the death of rapper Eazy-E, the group's mentor and the executive ...

'' album. It was dedicated to Bone's dead friend Wallace (Wally) Laird III, but after the death of

they decided to remake it as "Tha Crossroads". The original song appears on the edited version of the album, though the European release has the original as track number 8 and the remix as track 18. The song is performed by four of the group's members, (

Krayzie Bone Anthony Henderson (born June 17, 1973), better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper, singer, producer, and entrepreneur. He is a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Personal life Henderson comes from a fourth generation famil ...

Layzie Bone Steven Howse (born September 23, 1974), known professionally as Layzie Bone, is a rapper known primarily for being a member of the group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. He has also gone by the names L-Burna and The #1 Assassin. He is the younger brother ...

Bizzy Bone Bryon Anthony McCane II (born September 12, 1976),Whitburn, Joel (2008) ''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2006'', Record Research, , p. 97 better known by his stage name Bizzy Bone, is an American rapper, singer and the youngest member o ...

and Wish Bone). After receiving high praise for their song the group decided to make it their third single for their already released album, ''

''. In 2019, a version including other group member Flesh-n-Bone was released with the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony compilation album Lost Archives Vol 1. (After receiving their publishing rights from Ruthless Records.)

Reception

The song was a hit worldwide and reached the top of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

; on the latter chart, it was the most successful song of 1996. It has been certified double platinum in the United States and platinum in New Zealand. In 2008, "Tha Crossroads" was ranked number 33 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop".

Music video

The music video was filmed on February 27–28, 1996. It opens with the female vocal group Tre' (Kimberly Cromartie, Rebecca Forsha and Maniko Williams) singing the traditional spiritual "

Mary Don't You Weep "Mary Don't You Weep" (alternately titled "O Mary Don't You Weep", "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep, Don't You Mourn", or variations thereof) is a Spiritual that originates from before the American Civil War – thus it is what scholars call a "slave son ...

" in a church funeral setting, followed by the members of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony singing the main song in several settings, such as a church and a mountain top. The main focus of the video is an imposing man with sunglasses and a trench coat, akin to a

Reaper A reaper is a agricultural machinery, farm implement or person that wikt:reap#Verb, reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass. The first documented reaping machines were ...

. Bone are among the few who can see the man, and watch him as he gathers souls of various individuals who are marked for death, such as a young man who leaves his distraught mother behind (presumably having died after entering life as a gang member), Bone's friend Wally, Wish Bone's Uncle Charles,

, and a newborn baby (possibly to have died from a childbirth complication). The Reaper then leads the souls, with the baby in his arms, up a mountain where he reveals himself to be an angel, then takes the dead to

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

. "Tha Crossroads" was nominated for the Best Rap Video at the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

in 1996, although it lost to Coolio's "

Gangsta's Paradise "Gangsta's Paradise" is a single by American rapper Coolio. Interpolating Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Pastime Paradise", and featuring American singer L.V., the single was released on August 1, 1995. Certified Platinum in October, the song wa ...

Track listings

Australian CD single # "Tha Crossroads" (D.J. U-Neek's Mo Thug remix) – 3:50 # "Tha Crossroads" (D.J. U-Neek's remix instrumental) – 3:48 # "Crossroad" (LP version – radio edit) – 3:33 # "1st of tha Month" (The Kruder and Dorfmeister remix) – 6:15 # "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" – 4:42

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-charts

Certifications

Release history

Blazin' Squad version

"Crossroads", a retitled and reworked version of "Tha Crossroads", was released by British ten-piece hip-hop group

Blazin' Squad Blazin' Squad were an English hip hop group. The group had seven top ten hits, including "Crossroads", a cover version of the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony original. Jon O'Brien of AllMusic called them the "self-proclaimed pioneers of 'chav' culture". ...

as their first single in August 2002. It topped the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on the week of August 25, 2002.

Background

The group's cover version of "Crossroads" was recorded for inclusion on their first studio album, '' In the Beginning''. The decision to record and release "Crossroads" came about during the final stages of the album production: until June 2002, the song "Standard Flow" was planned for release as the group's first single, with a promotional version of the "Standard Flow" even made available on August 5. Despite being labelled as a cover version, only the chorus from the original version remains, with the verses replaced by new lyrics written by the band. Despite being the only 'cover version' the group ever recorded, it became the band's only number one single, staying at the top of the

for one week in August 2002. Two versions of the song exist: the main version, which features in the music video and on ''In the Beginning'', and the full version, which contains two extra verses, which appears on the second physical release of the single.

Music video

The music video for "Crossroads" directed by

Vaughan Arnell Vaughan Arnell (born 31 May 1961, in Chertsey, Surrey) is a British music video and television commercial director. Although having done films for high-profile clients in the TV commercial field, including Nestlé and Levi's, he is best known for ...

was premiered in July 2002. The video runs for a total length of three minutes and forty-eight seconds and shows the band performing the song on top of an unfinished flyover in the centre of Cape Town. The video also shows scenes of an underpass where a number of homeless people are living, and individual shots of each band member. The video was filmed with the phantom effect, which provides a 'shadow' type movement for each member of the band.

Track listing

* Digital single # "Crossroads" (radio edit) – 3:10 # "Uproar" – 3:25 * UK CD 1 # "Crossroads" (radio edit) – 3:10 # "Uproar" – 3:25 # "Crossroads" (CD-ROM video) – 3:45 * UK CD 2 # "Crossroads" (full version) – 3:50 # "Offering" – 3:20 # "Crossroads" (T.N.T Remix) – 3:50 * Cassette # "Crossroads" (radio edit) – 3:10 # "Crossroads" (full version) – 3:50

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crossroads, Tha 1990s ballads 1995 songs 1996 singles 2002 debut singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Blazin' Squad songs Bone Thugs-n-Harmony songs Contemporary R&B ballads Music videos directed by Vaughan Arnell Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs about death Songs based on real people Songs inspired by deaths Songs written by Bizzy Bone Songs written by Chris Jasper Songs written by Ernie Isley Songs written by Krayzie Bone Songs written by Layzie Bone Songs written by Marvin Isley Songs written by O'Kelly Isley Jr. Songs written by Ronald Isley Songs written by Rudolph Isley Songs written by Wish Bone UK Singles Chart number-one singles

Background

Reception

Music video

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-charts

Certifications

Release history

Blazin' Squad version

Background

Music video

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

See also

References