Though the controversial subject matter of
gangsta rap wasn't much of a barrier to popular success during the '90s,
the Geto Boys' recordings proved almost too extreme for widespread exposure. Blocked from distributing their 1990 major-label debut by Geffen -- who insisted that a track dealing with necrophilia as well as murder was a step too far -- the group was saved by producer
Rick Rubin, who arranged another distributor for the album, released on his own Def American label. The controversy, which occurred two years earlier than similar censorship incidents involving
Ice-T and
2 Live Crew, gave
the Geto Boys a large amount of publicity. Their follow-up,
We Can't Be Stopped, eventually hit platinum, though the trio of
Scarface, Willie D.
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Though the controversial subject matter of
gangsta rap wasn't much of a barrier to popular success during the '90s,
the Geto Boys' recordings proved almost too extreme for widespread exposure. Blocked from distributing their 1990 major-label debut by Geffen -- who insisted that a track dealing with necrophilia as well as murder was a step too far -- the group was saved by producer
Rick Rubin, who arranged another distributor for the album, released on his own Def American label. The controversy, which occurred two years earlier than similar censorship incidents involving
Ice-T and
2 Live Crew, gave
the Geto Boys a large amount of publicity.
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Their follow-up,
We Can't Be Stopped, eventually hit platinum, though the trio of
Scarface, Willie D., and
Bushwick Bill began to fracture by 1993. After releasing solo albums during the mid-'90s,
the Geto Boys reunited in 1996 for their most praised album yet,
The Resurrection.
When
the Geto Boys came together in 1986, though, it was with a completely different lineup. Formed as the Ghetto Boys in Houston by
rap entrepreneur James "Lil' J" Smith (and signed to his Rap-A-Lot label), the group originally consisted of Prince Johnny C., the Slim Jukebox, and DJ Reddy Red. During 1987-1988, both Johnny C. and the Jukebox quit, forcing Smith to add a dwarf-dancer-turned-rapper named
Bushwick Bill (born
Richard Shaw, Jamaica) and two Rap-A-Lot solo acts:
Ackshen (aka
Scarface born Brad Jordan, Houston) and Willie 'D' Dennis (born Houston).
After
the Geto Boys' Grip It! On That Other Level caught the ear of
hip-hop impresario
Rick Rubin (
LL Cool J,
Beastie Boys),
Rubin re-mixed and re-recorded tracks from the album. He was ready to release it on his Def American label in 1990 when distributor Geffen balked at "Mind of a Lunatic," a track which described necrophilia with a murder victim. By late 1990,
Rubin had found another distributor, Giant Records, and the album was released -- as
The Geto Boys -- that same year.
The Geto Boys' association with controversy was far from over, though;
rap groups were a hot topic for moral-minded politicians during the early '90s, and several leaders used
the Geto Boys as an example to decry the state of modern music. The fires were fanned in 1991 with the release of the group's second proper LP,
We Can't Be Stopped. Before the release of the album,
Bushwick Bill had lost an eye in a shooting incident with his girlfriend, and the cover featured Willie D. and
Scarface wheeling
Bill into an emergency room, with a prominent shot of the damaged eye. Inside the album, proceedings were among the most extreme in the history of recorded music. Obviously, radio airplay was non-existent, but
We Can't Be Stopped still went platinum in early 1992 -- thanks to the underground hit "Mind Playing Tricks on Me," one of the most effective inner-city vignettes in
hip-hop history.
By 1993, all three members had begun solo careers, though Willie D. was the only one completely separated from the band, citing artistic differences.
Scarface and
Bill continued with new member
Big Mike, releasing Uncut Dope in 1993 and Makin' Trouble the following year, but split late in 1994. Just one year later, Willie D. returned to the fold for another
Geto Boys release,
The Resurrection, which showed the group in fine form. Now it was
Bushwick Bill's turn to leave the group. DMG took his place for 1998's Da Good, Da Bad & Da Ugly but returned for the group's 2005 reunion album, The Foundation. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
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