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Biography
BLP sources|date=January 2008Infobox musical artist | name = Geto Boys| image =| caption =| image_size = | background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = Houston, Texas , United States|U.S. | genre = Hip hop music|Hip hop | years_active = 1986–1999; 2002–2005; 2009| label = Rap-a-Lot Records|Rap-a-Lot / Asylum Records|Asylum / Elektra Records Rap-a-Lot Records|Rap-a-Lot /Noo Trybe/ Virgin Records|Virgin / EMI|EMI Records American Recordings (US)|Def American / Warner Bros. Records | associated_acts =| website = http://virginrecords.com/geto_boys/home.html Official website| current_members = Bushwick Bill Scarface (rapper)|Scarface Willie D | past_members = Prince Johnny C The Slim Jukebox DJ Ready Red Big Mike Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys ) are a rap Musical ensemble|group from Houston, Texas , consisting of Scarface (rapper)|Scarface , Willie D , and Bushwick Bill . The Geto Boys have earned notoriety for their lyrics which cover controversial topics such as misogyny, gore, psychotic experiences, and necrophilia. Despite the explicit content of their songs, critic Alex Henderson argues that the group "comes across as much more heartfelt than the numerous gangsta rap ...wannabes who jumped on the gangsta bandwagon in the early ’90s."cite web |url=Allmusic|class=album|id=r27898|pure_url=yes |title=Review of ''We Can't be Stopped |accessdate=2007-12-21 |last=Henderson |first=Alex |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher= Allmusic The Geto Boys broke new ground with their soulful southern sound (a precursor to the Southern hip hop|Dirty South style).
History
The original "Ghetto Boys" consisted of Prince Johnny C, The Slim Jukebox, DJ Ready Red, and Little Billy (the dancer who later came to be known as Bushwick Bill). The group released their debut album in 1988 entitled, Making Trouble . With the release receiving very little attention, the group broke up shortly thereafter and a new line-up was put together with the inclusion of Scarface and Willie D, both aspiring solo artists. This new line-up recorded the 1989 album, Grip It& #33; On That Other Level . The group's 1990 self-titled album, The Geto Boys (album)|The Geto Boys , caused Def American Recordings , the label to which the group was signed at the time, to switch distributors from Geffen Records to Warner Bros. Records (with marketing for the album done by WB sister label Giant Records (Warner Bros. subsidiary label)|Giant Records ) because of controversy over the lyrics.
In the early 1990s, several American politicians attacked rap artists associated with the sub-genre, gangsta rap, including the Geto Boys. A high-profile incident in which Bushwick Bill lost an Human eye|eye in a shooting with his girlfriend helped boost sales of the group's 1991 album, '' We Can't Be Stopped ''. The album cover features a picture of the injured Bushwick being carted through a hospital by Scarface and Willie D. On the album's title track, the group responded to Geffen Records ending its distribution deal with Def American. The album featured the single, " Mind Playing Tricks on Me ", which became a big hit in the hip-hop community and even charted well on the pop charts reaching #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 .
After Willie D left the group, Scarface and Bushwick Bill continued with the Geto Boys with the addition of Big Mike who made his debut appearance with the group on 1993's album, Till Death Do Us Part (Geto Boys album)|Till Death Do Us Part . Although Till Death Do Us Part was certified gold, it was not as well received by fans as the lyrically gifted shoes of Willie D, who also wrote for Bushwick, proved too large to fill for Big Mike. However, the album did spawn one top 40 hit in "Six Feet Deep" which peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 . Subsequently, Big Mike was dropped and Willie D returned for 1996's critically acclaimed The Resurrection (Geto Boys album)|The Resurrection and 1998's Da Good Da Bad & Da Ugly which Bushwick was not a part of. After three years on hiatus, the group reunited in 2002 to record its seventh album, The Foundation (Geto Boys album)|The Foundation , which was released on January 25, 2005. The Geto Boys were featured on Scarface's My Homies Part 2 album.
The song "Street Life" from the album Till Death Do Us Part (Geto Boys album)|Till Death Do Us Part was featured on the motion picture South Central (film)|South Central . A video clip for the song with footage from the film was released. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=vnyC-NPEPtk Although the band rarely releases albums or perform together, the interest in the group has never wavered as fans anxiously await one more album or performance. However, the group did come together for a much anticipated reunion at Cypress Hill 's SmokeOut festival in San Bernardino, CA on October 23, 2009. http://www.kroq-data.com/htmlletter/smokeout/smokeoutinfo.pdf In 2010, Richard Stephen Shaw (Bushwick Bill) was threatened with deportation to Jamaica.Carroll, Susan. " http://blogs.chron.com/immigration/archives/2010/07/geto_boy_faces.html Houston's own Geto Boy faces deportation." Houston Chronicle . July 19, 2010. Retrieved on July 20, 2010.
Lyrics and influence
The group's name, Geto Boys, comes from a deliberate misspelling of the word Ghetto . For its first two albums, Making Trouble (1988) and Grip It& #33; On That Other Level (1989), the spelling was the English standard "Ghetto Boys". For their third album, The Geto Boys , they changed it to the "Geto" spelling, which the group has used since. The Geto Boys's lyrics push gangsta rap themes to extremes, and sometimes focus on rape , necrophilia , murder , explicit sex, cartoonish violence, and hostility toward women. The group is credited for putting the Southern hip hop|South on the hip hop music map and inspired a legion of acts including 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., UGK, T.I., Goodie Mobb, OutKast, 50 Cent, Chamillionaire, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Juvenile, Mystikal, Esham and Insane Clown Posse .cite video |people= Joseph Bruce (performer) |date=2010-06-08 |title=The Opening |medium=song |publisher=Hatchet House/Psychopathic Records |time=0:54 |quote=Much love to Cube, Awesome Dre, The Geto Boys, and Esham / for making us want to be rappers, self employed, and the bomb
Insane Clown Posse's Joseph Bruce|Violent J (Joseph Bruce) described the Geto Boys as the first rappers to perform horrorcore , with their song "Assasins", released on their debut album, Making Trouble .cite web |url= http://www.spin.com/articles/insane-clown-posses-violent-j-picks-11-horrorcore-classics? page=0%2C5 |title=Insane Clown Posse's Violent J Picks 11 Horrorcore Classics |author=Weingarten, Christopher |date=October 28, 2011 |work= |publisher= Spin (magazine)|Spin |accessdate=4 November 2011 Bruce says that the Geto Boys continued to pioneer the style with their second release Grip It& #33; On That Other Level , with songs such as "Mind of a Lunatic" and "Trigga-Happy Nigga".cite book |last=Bruce |first=Joseph |authorlink=Joseph Bruce |coauthors=Hobey Echlin |editor=Nathan Fostey |title=ICP: Behind the Paint |origdate= |year=2003 |origmonth=August |edition=second |publisher=Psychopathic Records |location=Royal Oak, Michigan |isbn=09741846083 |pages=174–185 |chapter=The Dark Carnival The Geto Boys' popularity was boosted somewhat in 1999 by the prominent use of two songs—"Damn it Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" (released as a promotional single for the 1992 compilation album Uncut Dope http://www.discogs.com/Geto-Boys-Damn-It-Feels-Good-To-Be-A-Gangster/release/1267770) and "Still" (from The Resurrection )—in Mike Judge 's film Office Space , now considered a cult film|cult classic . The song "Mind of a Lunatic" has been covered by many recording acts including Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson in 2003, as a B-side off the album The Golden Age of Grotesque . The single "Damn it Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" has also been covered by the band Aqueduct (band)|Aqueduct and country singer Carter Falco.cite web |url= http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=RjgWgjOyhuo |title=Aqueduct - "Damn it Feels Good to Be a Gangster" |accessdate=2007-12-21 |last= |first= |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher= Youtube
Discography
main article|Geto Boys discography
Making Trouble (1988)
Grip It& #33; On That Other Level (1989)
The Geto Boys (album)|The Geto Boys (1990)
'' We Can't Be Stopped (1991)
Till Death Do Us Part (Geto Boys album)|Till Death Do Us Part (1993)
The Resurrection (Geto Boys album)|The Resurrection (1996)
Da Good da Bad & da Ugly (1998)
The Foundation (Geto Boys album)|The Foundation (2005)
http://virginrecords.com/geto_boys/home.html Official website
Geto Boys Category:American hip hop groups Category:Asylum Records artists Category:Horrorcore groups Category:Musical groups established in 1986 Category:Musical groups from Houston, Texas Category:Musical trios Category:Southern hip hop groups Category:Rappers from Texas Category:Musicians from Texas
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