Shortly before their set at Rock the Bells’ San Francisco Bay area on Sunday night, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony told AllHipHop.com they were appreciative of Game’s new single “Celebration,” which features Wiz Khalifa and Lil Wayne and samples both Bone’s music and stylings.
“I feel like any song that we do that someone remixes we may have looked at as being disrespectful back when we were young and getting in the game,” Wish Bone said from the tour stop in Mountain View, California. “But us being in the game for 20 years and younger cats coming up behind us doing our style, a style that we invented, that’s kind of a compliment.”
Ironically, when asked whether the longtime rumors that Eazy-E was so impressed with Leimert Park’s Freestyle Fellowship’s style that he signed Bone to essentially copy their recipe and go mainstream, Bizzy Bone was quick to explain that wasn’t the case.
“No BS aside, I’ve heard the same thing, but I think it was the vibe, the Midwest vibe,” Bizzy Bone said. “Twista was around, [the Freestyle Fellowship] was around. Actually Layzie Bone was the first one to come up with it [from our camp]. If you go back to Faces of Death, in ’91-’92, that documents that we were there. Everything is from the heart, everything is original and sometimes when you gather a great idea, a lot of people are a part of it.”
Bizzy Bone further applauded Game, as well. “I kind look at it how like my brothers look at it with the remix that my brother Game and them did,” Bizzy Bone said. “We not bitter at anything, no matter what … thank you for the homage.”
As far as their slot on this year’s Rock the Bells co-headlining the second day of the two-day show with Nas, Flesh N Bone emphasized that the experience was a treat for the fans.
Back by DJ Quik’s band, the veteran group from Cleveland, Ohio, are “representing as general and veterans in the game,” Flesh N Bone said. “We’ve got a lot of history, a lot of expertise when it comes to performing, whether with a DJ or a live band. You can’t download a live performance – you have to experience it.”
Rock the Bells travels to New Jersey this weekend to conclude the third and final installment of the annual summer concert series this year.
A fourth, more scaled-back Rock the Bells, will take place in Miami in December.