If you go
› What: Nelly, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Juvenile› Where: AT&T Field, 201 Power Alley› When: 7 p.m. Thursday, May 3› Admission: $34-$74› For more information: https://att-field.tickets-center.com/search/at-and-t-field/nelly-tickets/?venueId=15305&performerId=3431&venueName=AT%26T+Field&performerName=Nelly&vaid=4482&pfaid=2891&tagid=103&atid=101&accid=1084751&nid=3&cid=34178021496&kwid=304791301498&akwd=nelly+chattanooga&dmt=e&bmt=e&dist=s&uq=nelly+chattanooga&device=c&ismobile=false&vx=0
It probably wouldn't roll off of the tongue as well as the current name, but you could rearrange Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to put the harmony first and it would work just as well in defining the group's sound.
Since their debut in 1994, the group, featuring rappers Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, Wish Bone, Krayzie Bone and Bizzy Bone, has always had a smooth R&B sound when it came to many of their vocal tracks.
Flesh said in a telephone interview that it is on purpose and it goes back to a family thing as the guys all related in some way.
"That came from when we were youngsters," he said.
"Our parents were in bands and they were always singing. There were doo-wop sessions every night in the house. Every night we heard those melodies. Those Motown sounds. I wrote my first rap when I was 8 or 9 years old, but that melody was always there with some Luther [Vandross] or Al Green infused in it at an early age. We were R&B out of the gate."
The song "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" introduced their West Coast sound to the world and the group has sold more than 50 million records to date, making them one of the most successful hip-hop groups ever. About.com ranked them No. 12 on their list of the "25 Best Rap Groups of All Time" while MTV calls them "the most melodic hip-hop group of all time."
Flesh, the oldest member of the group, says that the harmonies help make the group's sound different, but it is their work ethic and family ties that have sustained them for so many years.
"There were five of us in the beginning and there will be five of us forever," he said.
"It's different when you are family members. We fight like a...We squab. We are authentic and we keep each other straight."
He says the guys are working on a new record, as well as several solo projects and a reality TV show.
"We are smashing trying to put in the work."
They will be joined on stage Thursday, May 3, at AT&T Field by Nelly and Juvenile. Nelly is known for hit songs such as "Move That Body," "Hot in Herre," "Shake Ya Tailfeather and "Ride Wit Me." Juvenile is known for hits "Back That Azz Up," as well as "Ha," "Slow Motion" and "Rodeo."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.