Who are the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony members? John Mulaney says he was almost scammed by a fake manager of the hip-hop group

Grammy-winning Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, or just Bone Thugs, the rap group known for its distinctive fusion of catchy harmonies and quick-paced rhymes from Cleveland, Ohio, consists of five members - Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Flesh-n-Bone. They have been in the business for a long time since their founding in 1991.

They recently found themselves unexpectedly in the spotlight after comedian John Mulaney shared the story in an episode of his recently released Netflix special, Everybody's in L.A. when he talked about how he tried to schedule the legendary hip-hop group for a skit by discovering he was being conned.

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How a fake Bone Thugs-N-Harmony almost conned John Mulaney

He started,

“Before we get to the rest of the show, motherf—ker, let me tell you about the week I had. We had something very special planned for you this evening that we had to scrap very recently.”

Mulaney claims that as part of a humorous prank, he thought of inviting Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to play their Grammy-winning 1996 hit song "Tha Crossroads" to pay tribute to Richard Kind’s fake tortoise.

“Then we were gonna be like, ‘How can we possibly pay tribute to dead tortoise here on our show? Then, ding-dong, the doorbell would ring, I’d walk up there, I would open the door, and it’s Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and they were gonna say, ‘Our tour bus broke down and we heard you guys were sad.'”

He continued,

“The setup didn’t even make sense at all. But then, in honor of the tortoise, they were gonna perform ‘[The] Crossroads.’ If you’re not familiar with ‘Crossroads,’ it was an enormous hit that Bone Thugs-N-Harmony had in 1996 about their friend’s tragic death and I cannot overstate how hugely popular it was with horned-up junior high kids at Catholic schools to grind with each other during the Clinton administration.”

He was able to contact someone claiming to be from the group, and at first, he was informed that Bone Thugs were thrilled about the chance. The individual started pitching ideas through a Zoom meeting. The group members were absent from the meeting. It only included the so-called manager, Mulaney, and his show's writers.

It initially went smoothly until the alleged manager agreed to all the demands of the showwriters, and they started to get suspicious. The alleged manager asked for $2800 upfront for "just running money" as the group was on tour.

Mulaney said,

"I couldn't pay it through the show budget, okay? So now I need to withdraw $2,800. A few years ago, in an effort to safeguard my sobriety, I set up certain measures, right? I set up a system where I cannot have, at any time, more than $300 cash unless I alert certain people."

After he requested his wife, Olivia Munn, for the money, the sum was "generously" reduced to $75,000 after suspiciously rising to $100,000.

“And then I said very uncharacteristically, you have disrespected me and you have disrespected my show.”

Mulaney added later,

“Now, I didn’t tell you all this just to air the dirty laundry of what it’s like behind the scenes of a show. Many guests have shaken me down for a couple thousand dollars and then canceled last minute. It happens all the time."

He continued,

“I’m telling you about it because I’m genuinely worried. After a little investigating, I have come to believe that the man I was talking to was not the manager of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. In fact, several sites list a different person”

To avoid embarrassing situations when they cross paths at the Kia Forum for a festival in late April, Mulaney advised Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to phone into the live program and avoid awkwardness.

"Credit where credit is due,"

He said, addressing the person allegedly involved in the scam while glancing into the camera.

"I do indeed look like someone you could hustle over a booking for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. But you played this very wrong. Indeed I am pretty unaware of what things should cost or how much money it takes to sing songs. But had you asked for $50,000 on Monday, and then had you asked for $25,000 on Tuesday, and then had you shown up today at our taping with any four men claiming to be Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and named any sum of money to walk out on our stage, oh, you would be a very rich man indeed."

He continued,

"Instead, you have nothing. I, meanwhile, have $2,800 in cash that I have to return to my wife and then immediately alert my sponsor."

He then expressed regret to his audience and provided a consolation gift, a pair of tortoise pants for four lucky audience members.

One of the members, Bizzy Bone, was contacted by Stereogum, but when the publication asked him whether he had heard of the story, he replied, "Whose that?"

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