{"id":804347,"date":"2020-02-19T05:35:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T12:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=954547"},"modified":"2020-02-19T05:35:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T12:35:54","slug":"bone-thugs-n-harmony-change-name-to-boneless-thugs-n-harmony-for-buffalo-wild-wings-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/bone-thugs-n-harmony-change-name-to-boneless-thugs-n-harmony-for-buffalo-wild-wings-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Change Name To Boneless Thugs-N-Harmony (For Buffalo Wild Wings)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s almost unheard of for musicians to change their name after 25 years, especially when that change is part of a marketing campaign for an American casual dining restaurant known for their chicken wings. In either a coup for marketing professionals everywhere or a sign that no one (even legendary hip-hop<\/a> groups) are immune to capitalism\u2019s allure, Bone Thugs-N-Harmon<\/a>y announced on February 19th that their new name is Boneless Thugs-N-Harmony \u2014 a homage to Buffalo Wild Wings.<\/p>\n

In addition to the overarching name swap, three members of the group will also go by new monikers. Krayzie Bone, Flesh-N-Bone, and Wish Bone are now Krayzie Boneless, Flesh-N-Boneless, and Wish Boneless. According to the marketing materials released by Buffalo Wild Wings, Layzie Bone is not on board with the new \u201cBoneless\u201d identity. \u201cI ain\u2019t changing shit,\u201d Layzie says in a Behind The Music<\/em>-esque spoof released in conjunction with the announcement. \u201cBone Thugs-N-Harmony changes their name to Boneless. It\u2019s preposterous.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Seth Freeman, the CMO of Buffalo Wild Wings, there\u2019s a complicated, non-monetary reason for the name change. \u201cThese boneless wings are so good, what if they made Bone Thugs-N-Harmony have an identity crisis,\u201d Freeman wrote in a statement. In reality, the group\u2019s longtime manager Steve Lobel says he was approached by a marketing agency a few months ago about the campaign. \u201cThree of the four were down with it,\u201d Lobel says. \u201cLayzie Bone was hesitant, and he\u2019s still hesitant about it. He wasn\u2019t with it, but the other three gentlemen were.\u201d Lobel has worked with the group since 1994, meeting them through Eazy-E.<\/p>\n

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Boneless Thugs-N-Harmony will sell merchandise featuring the new name, including t-shirts, hats, and a golden boneless chicken chain. When asked whether the group will change their social handles or release music under their new moniker, Lobel was cagey. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of things they\u2019re working on,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe have a lot of things that we can\u2019t discuss at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Midwestern crew went through a variety of names in their quarter-century as a group \u2014 The Band Aid Boys<\/a>, B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e \u2014 before settling on Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. At this time, it\u2019s unclear how long the Boneless-era will last.<\/p>\n