For Myself & Others: Back to the Geto
By Bomani Jones, AOL BlackVoices columnist
After more than six years away, Houston's Geto Boys return this month with the Jan. 25 release of their seventh LP, 'The Foundation.' The first single, 'Yes Yes Y'all,' shows them in strong form, and the rest of the record indicates that they haven't become irrelevant as they speed past middle age.
True fans of hip-hop must be glad to see that the Geto Boys are back, and those folks must be elated to see the group's most famous lineup -- Scarface, Willie D and Bushwick Bill -- are in place for their reunion. Though this lineup is the one most associated with the Geto Boys -- the one that gave us the classic 'My Mind's Playing Tricks on Me' -- it's been 13 years since they released back-to-back albums with this roster. Even though stand-in Big Mike was a monster on 1993's 'Till Death Do Us Part' and '99's 'Da Good, Da Bad, and Da Ugly' was strong without Bushwick, this trio is the one that the world thinks of when they think of the Geto Boys, and it's good to see them together 15 years after they blew up nationally.
For most Southerners, the GB were a godsend, the first group of emcees that sounded like cats they knew. For the rest of the country, they were able to show the commonality of hood life nationwide. It's clich‚ to repeat Chuck D's quote that rap is the black CNN, but for folks that rarely left their parts of the world, the Geto Boys implicitly made a point they directly stated on 1996's 'The World is a Ghetto' -- life, at its essence, is the same independent of location. The portraits they painted of Houston's Fifth Ward and South Acres didn't diverge from those that Schoolly D or Kool G. Rap sketched of Philly and New York. But they were tinted with a flavor unique to Texas, and that contribution to the culture was incalculable.
But why this group? There's no fantastic explanation for why the Geto Boys work. Their beats have always been strong (largely thanks to the underrated Mike Dean) and Scarface has always been your favorite rapper's favorite rapper, but the classic GB lineup is not flawless. Willie D has always been way more entertaining than dope, and Bushwick's role has always been that of a novelty. From his stature -- or lack thereof -- to his oft-disturbingly psychotic lyrics, Bushwick did more shocking than rocking on the mic. If the idea of a rhyming little person didn't make you look twice, then that little person extolling the virtues of necrophilia had to get attention.
But the thing that's always made the Geto Boys strong was just that: No matter what, they had a way to make you listen. Whether they were talking about the first Gulf War ('F*ck a War'), threatening to stomp a mud hole in someone ('Read These Nikes') or saying something that would make most stomachs upset ('Chucky'), each member has his own way of making his verse sound like something that required listening. Perhaps we can chalk the Geto Boys' success to the combination to Scarface's macabre genius, the power of Willie D's voice and the dark and sometimes humorous change of pace Bushwick provides.
It is important that we acknowledge the role they have played in the history of hip-hop. Not only were they the first group to make the Big Apple-centric world of hip-hop look below the Mason-Dixon, they were one of the best examples of how scaring white people could make a lot of money for rappers. Their loyalty to J. Prince and Rap-A-Lot Records showed that one could be a star without totally folding into the corporate establishment. And 15 years after this lineup hit the big time, they've proven to be one of hip-hop's most enduring entities.
Jan. 21, 2005