"Damn, s**t done changed"

- Notorious B.I.G., "Things Done Changed”, Ready to Die

10 years ago, a time when only New York and Los Angeles were the only two cities believed to spawn all kinds of rap talent, four young men - Krayzie, Layzie, Bizzy and Wish better known as Bone Thugs N Harmony would put Cleveland on the map and introduce a new style of rap on an unsuspecting Hip Hop public.

Rumors began circulating that Bizzy was heavy into drugs and when he passed out on stage, the group had had enough and kicked him out!

How could they? Many people wondered. "I thought they were a tight unit?" some said while devoted fans believed "Bizzy will straighten himself out and I'm sure they got love for him, everything will be back to normal soon".

It's late 2004 and a few weeks ago Bone Thugs were on tour and guess what? Bizzy wasn't with them. With a new album and movie about to drop in a few weeks through his 7th Sign Records...yours truly was blessed with the chance to talk to the charismatic and the eccentric Bizzy Bone who took time out of a very important family event to talk about Bone Thugs, Hip Hop, life and his upcoming projects:

FoxxyLady: Hi, how are you doing?

Bizzy Bone: I'm doing alright; just relaxing...actually I'm doing great. My sister just got married and we're all at the reception right now and I’m still working!!

FoxxyLady: That sounds wonderful...First off, I asked people on the website to post some questions they would like to ask you and the most popular questions were: Do you ever see yourself coming together with Bone Thugs and Harmony again and what was the real problem between you guys?

Bizzy Bone: Well, I could break it down to you in a story!  Say a man was out at the club all night drinking and then he gets home to his woman; she's got Bourbon on her breath and says "Get out of the house, you damn drunk!". And you say "Can I please take my clothes?" and she says "No, you go as you are!". So you leave, you clean yourself up and everything...get yourself a condo, get your little car, get your s**t together and you at the singles club. Everybody there is checking you out and then she comes through the door and says "That's my man!" You feel me?

FoxxyLady: [Laughs]...I feel you

Bizzy Bone: So as far as the question with Bone Thugs and Harmony, you know what I’m sayin'...I just think that the people need to realize it's the things "THEY’VE DONE!"...You understand what I’m saying?  And once they get that, they'll understand what I'm doing.  It ain't no way I'm going back, to "HER".  You just put me out, didn't let me take no clothes , tried to stop me from doing shows...telling everybody don't do business with me and that I’m impossible to work with but I can do business with them and they work with me just fine...

FoxxyLady: Yeah, You can't past that line of respect that should be there.

Bizzy Bone: Yeah!!, Yeah!!...so if you're going to go back, what kind of sense would that make for "THE MAN" after he cleans himself up.  I guess, if you look inside of that story, you will definitely find out where the biggest problem lies at.  It's still all good, personally we're great...it's just that what everybody would like to see just isn't happening and I don't see it happening.  I think everybody should support Layzie, Krayzie and Wish, as Bone Thugs And Harmony...support them and check what I’ve gotta say cause you know I've got a couple of things on the table as well and that’s the way we keep moving.

It's just like Outkast, they have two separate buses.  Dre is on one bus and Big Boi is on the other bus. Big Boi got everybody smoking the blunts, kickin' it and having a good time. Now Dre, he's got fruits, berries, Reverends, Spiritual guiders but when they both get off their buses...they meet, get on stage , they click and they harmonize.

FoxxyLady: You definitely have to have that "click" to work...

Bizzy Bone: Look at that, see now you get it and everybody is gonna get it just like you.

FoxxyLady: Tell me more about your album Alpha And Omega, what prompted the title and when's the release date?

Bizzy Bone: I had to let people know, I don't keep paint on my face...you don't have to look at my album and read stuff backwards.  All that mystic and mystery s**t , I had to break the monotony of that! I came out with Heavenz Movie, then I came out with The Gift and now it's Alpha And Omega.  It's going along the spiritual line of my career and that's what's up! That's why we call it the Alpha & Omega...The Beginning And The Ending...that's what we represent...that's who I represent, as far as 7 goes. October 19th is the scheduled release.

FoxxyLady: What should everyone expect from your album?

Bizzy Bone: They should expect some street stuff, it's gonna be very very street oriented and also smoothed out.  It's gonna be what I’ve been going through since the last time people were able to hear me.  It's entailed with alot of deaths, alot of love, life and the pursuit of happiness...[Laughs]...They should expect great production, new vocabulary, different flow and some of my old stuff they've enjoyed listening too in the first place.

FoxxyLady: Are you gonna be going on tour with anyone?

Bizzy Bone: Yes, we are locking that down right now.  We have Trillville, The Eastsidaz, The Eastside Boyz are in consideration.  We also have a Snoop Dogg tour in consideration,  I have been dealing with alot of good people in this industry and we're just trying to do it the right way.  Yeah, we definitely have that set up.

FoxxyLady: If anybody wants the dates for these tour dates, where can they find them?

Bizzy Bone: They can find them at bizzybonemusic.com, 7th-signimg.com also we have a project that’s out on the internet at bizzybonemusic.com called "The Beginning And The Ending".  So this is a multimedia movement that I got going on right now. We are touching the internet, we have the film coming out with the "The Alpha And Omega" and we also have "The Beginning And The Ending" coming out on the internet.  We're just moving forward, we shot about two videos and we're gonna shot another two in a minute and everything is lovely, everything is beautiful.

FoxxyLady: What videos did you shoot?

Bizzy Bone: We shot the video for the song "I Understand (Better Man)", Trillville did the remix for that and I also did one called "Try Hustle Me" for the internet. Yall just look at bizzybonemusic.com and you'll be able to really find out what's going on. Also go to the stores and pick up a copy of Alpha And Omega the record and the film.

FoxxyLady: From the 2 tracks, that I did hear from your album it sounds like you're expressing yourself more on this album than your last one...

[Bizzy Cuts Me Off]:

Bizzy Bone: You gotta remember, I've always been that type of artist.  I always dug deep inside and came out with stuff that I felt...you know, that's what makes me different and able to do things by myself because I'm an individual!  My raps were always a little different, I didn't always flip my tongue, and I dug into different styles and things of that nature.  So, it's just been me and hopefully people can embrace it like they have been.

FoxxyLady: Do you have any other stuff going besides rap right now?  I know you've done movies before and word has been going around that you might get your own TV show?  Is it true?

Bizzy Bone: The TV show was just a discussion and it never really materialized.  Alot of things come across my table like that, you know.  None of that is really happening.  It's just the film, the album and the internet thing, right now.  That's what were doing...multimedia!

FoxxyLady: The last movie I seen you in was Jacked Up, you were kinda like the cold hearted killer in it.  Can you point out a type of role or maybe a character that you would like to portray?

Bizzy Bone: I'd like to Donald Goines...The Donald Goines story.  I was supposed to do that with Dr. Dre but nothing ever materialized but I got so knee deep into it that...I 'd like to still be able to accomplish that.

FoxxyLady: Would you rather stay an under the radar rapper with a strong underground following, or would you want to have that huge "CrossRoads" type of success?

Bizzy Bone: With "Crossroads", Bone Thugs N Harmony was ripped off.  So I don't see the benefit in anything but selling units right now and the product.  It doesn't matter what happens, we'll just do what we're supposed to do , put the product on the shelves and we sell it...that's all that counts to me.  "Crossroads", we made no money, we don't get paid for that. There is no publishing, for "CrossRoads", "ThuggishRuggish" everything that you've heard, our kids do not eat off of that, we have to start from scratch.  See that's what Bone Thugs N Harmony won't tell anybody but I’m so fearless I'll tell you everything.

FoxxyLady: How do you feel about the current state of Hip Hop in general and If you had the power to change it, what would change?

Bizzy Bone: Aww man, I love to see these young brothers making money.  If I was to say anything negative or derogatory , I would be saying something bad about myself.  So I say keep on, keeping on.  If I had the power to change certain things about Hip Hop what would I change?  If I had the power...I would probably give artists a minimum wage like they do at McDonald's...that’s about it.  Minimum wage at McDonald's is like 4 or 5 bucks...

FoxxyLady: [Laughs]...Why would you do that?

Bizzy Bone: Because I started in the industry making 30 cents an album, I split that 4 ways and I still managed to get a Benz...Wowwww!  How did he do that?  He had to sell a hundred thousand million copies to do that s**t ...[Laughs].

FoxxyLady: [Laughs]...You've been in the game for sometime now, what have you learned from your mistakes and the moves you've made?  Or do you consider it all a learning experience?

Bizzy Bone: Definitely, It's all learning experiences.  There really isn't any mistakes when you're in this business.  Maybe I would have done a few things differently but everything’s working out the way it should.  I'm in a great place right now and that's what's up!

FoxxyLady: Do you feel you've grown more as person and a rapper since you left Bone Thugs?

Bizzy Bone: Oh yeah, I'm a better rapper than I ever was and I'm a better person than I ever was.  So, yeah...I'm straight and hell yeah, I've grown.  I don't think because I left Bone Thugs and Harmony---that's the reason!  I didn't leave Bone Thugs N Harmony, they asked me to leave.  They gave me paper work and said I needed to sign some stuff to go by the rules...I told them I'm not signing s**t and they came back and said "Then get the f**k out of the group". And then they asked me to go the Grey Goose Tour, when I got there they told me "No, we don't want you on the tour" and then I passed out on stage.  We got to get the timeline's right so people understand how it happened.

FoxxyLady: You've worked with Biggie, 2Pac and Eazy E, what did you pick up from them and what were they like in person?

Bizzy Bone: What I picked up from them was like...umm, it was like an embracement, as far as with Biggie what I picked up from him was he was real lyrical, he was very very quiet and about his business.  What I picked up from Pac was just everything that everybody else picked up from him, I picked it up.  So I can't say it was anymore special than what anybody has or had. Now as far as Eazy E, he was our mentor.  Even though he signed us to a terrible contract, he still allowed us to get into the game.  That's how I feel about them three and the impact they made on my life.  Eazy made me know that I gotta watch who I do business with, watch what contracts I sign and watch who I trust. With Biggie and Pac it was more of an artistic, spiritual type of thing and I'm saying that in sequence...artistic, spiritual...Biggie, Pac.

FoxxyLady: Is there any other artist you would like to work with that you haven't worked with yet?

Bizzy Bone: Terrence Trent D'Arby

FoxxyLady: Can you describe exactly what you have to go through---day to day?

Bizzy Bone: Fed-Ex, Fax, Phone Calls, Negotiating, Studio, Pain, Rent, Promoting , Marketing, Producing, Writing and that's what’s up!

FoxxyLady: What's the biggest misconception about you?

Bizzy Bone: I don't know, I don't know anybody's ideas about me are, I think the biggest misconception is I'm not about my business.  I think that's it but it's like damn this is like my 3rd and 4th album , 3rd and 4th movie.  I'm just tryna show and prove instead of crying and saying s**t like "Oooh, you guys wont listen to me"!  Look , I don't give a f**k , you need to just check this out, what I’m saying right now because I’m gonna make you bump your head and come with that apocalyptic . This ain't gonna be that watered down, milk toast gospel.

FoxxyLady: What are your thoughts about the presidential election?

Bizzy Bone: I really don't have any thoughts Hun. I just don't have anyone to really speak with me about those types of things and I get this question all the time.  My thoughts about it is: It's just like all the other ones.  I don't see anybody saying anything about the disenfranchised, the people that I represent and the people that I feel.  There are so many jobs lost, all this other stuff going on.  When someone can address the issues that’s gonna make my eyes open then you got my vote.  I'm not just gonna vote for anybody and be herded in like cattle to get somebody else in that's gonna do the same thing like the one he moved out.  What sense do that make?  You gotta be informed, I heard about the debate but when they debate they can only talk about certain subjects and issues.  I mean they can't even tap on everything that supposed to be tapped on.

FoxxyLady: What’s one thing the world could do without?

Bizzy Bone: One thing in the world I could do without...[Laughs]...Aww s**t...Negativity.

Foxxylady: In closing is there anything you want to say to the people before we wrap this up?

Bizzy Bone: Most definitely, bizzybonemusic.com...it's something everybody needs to get in touch with.  It will give you the downloads and all that!  The Alpha and The Omega the record and the film in stores October 19th and everybody should just try and love each other. Understand what's going on, be careful because he comes quickly!

This interview was written and conducted by FoxxyLady for Sixshot.com