For many, Hip-hop and rap music is just a mix of raving electronic music, explosive beats, and ever-aggressive rhymes. Stereotypically, that may all be true, but at the core, Hip-hop is all about storytelling, and perhaps stories come nowhere near as heartfelt as today’s birthday celebrant—Bizzy Bone.
Byron Anthony McCane II, born in Columbus, Ohio, played no stranger to a dysfunctional childhood. In several occasions, Bizzy relayed the dark chapters connecting his traumatic childhood, to his wayward adolescence.
At age thirteen, Biz moved back home under the parentage of his older sister. It was during this particular chapter when the young Biz met Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, Wish Bone, and Flesh-n-Bone—eventually leading up to the formation of the iconic rap group, Bone Enterprise.
It was through Bizzy’s distinct rapid-fire rhymes and high-pitched harmonies that led N.W.A.’s Eazy-E to bestow them with a certain memorable moniker, thus becoming the well-acclaimed Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
Although many applaud him for his Bone Thug legacy, Bizzy Bone proved just as daunting as a solo artist. His debut album Heaven’z Movie smashed the charts with much critical-acclaim, eventually earning certified platinum. His second record The Gift premiered with similar praise and would peak to the US BillboardIndie albums at #2.
In 2004, Bizzy released Alpha and Omega, which featured a transition in his musical style and lyrical content, which was astonishingly welcomed by fans, and received prominence as Bizzy’s best album by far.
The most intriguing, however, is that Bizzy, like may Hip-hop greats, represents more than meets the eye. It isn’t just rap and upbeat music fans encounter with Biz, but rather the physical embodiment of life-threatening stories sung above a very defiant and hopeful pitch—and that’s what Hip-hop is at best.
Happy 40th birthday, Bizzy Bone!
By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com
