Geto Boys are a legendary Houston gangsta rap group featuring Bushwick Bill, Willie D and Scarface. Interestingly, Geto Boys were initially called Ghetto Boys, and they featured a totally different lineup. It wasn’t until Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D joined forces that they achieved widespread success.
The Geto Boys are featured on tonight’s episode of “Unsung.” Check out a sneak peek below, and watch the full episode tonight on TV One at 8pm EST.
WHO ARE THE GETO BOYZ?
In 1989, the LP “Grip It! On That Other Level” earned the attention of acclaimed producer Rick Rubin, who wanted to release the album on his Def American label. But distributor Geffen wasn’t down with the track “Mind of a Lunatic,” what with its lyrics about necrophilia, and Rubin was forced to find a new distributor. When the disc eventually surfaced, Ghetto Boys morphed into Geto Boys.
Who are Geto Boys? As hip-hop heads will answer quickly, they’re the Houston gangsta rap trio behind the 1991 classic “Mind Playing Tricks On Me,” a single from “We Can’t Be Stopped.” That album’s cover featured a picture of dwarf rapper Bushwick Bill in the hospital just after he’d shot himself in the eye. In the grisly photo, Bushwick Bill sits in a gurney with his eye patch off, his self-inflicted wound there for the world to see. Scarface and Willie stand in the background, wheeling Bill down the hallway. Despite the criticism Geto Boys faced for penning violent and misogynic lyrics, their music struck a chord with some critics, and Alex Henderson of AllMusic called the “We Can’t Be Stopped” album “an engaging, disturbing effort that comes across as much more heartfelt than the numerous gangsta rap albums by the N.W.A and Cube clones and wannabes who jumped on the gangsta bandwagon in the early ’90s.”
Who are the Geto Boys? They rapped about dark subject matter but still found a widespread audience, and all three members of the best-known lineup have gone on to respectable solo careers.
