He’s prepared, but then you'd have to be alert and ready after almost 30 years of writing, recording, performing, and navigating the music industry as a solo artist and a member of one of the most influential rap groups of all time, Geto Boys.īetween 19, the trio of Willie D, Bushwick Bill, and Scarface, as well as combinations therein, released several albums and arguably put Southern hip-hop on the map with tracks like “Mind Playing Tricks on Me,” 'Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta,' and others, breaking barriers for a tidal wave of rappers. Out came a Tide pre-wash pen from his pocket to sop up the crimson pool. He went along with the cover, although he later expressed some regret about showcasing himself in such a vulnerable state.Scarface was also impeccably dressed, except for a giant red splotch on his left leg. The album cover of “We Can’t Be Stopped” shows Bill’s injury while he’s in a hospital gown. The Geto Boys members were often up front about their personal lives, ranging from Jordan’s bipolar disorder to the infamous incident when Shaw shot himself in the eye during an altercation with his then-girlfriend. The single “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” was a breakout hit. The album though helped put Houston’s Fifth Ward and Southern rap on the map. “You will be missed big fella,” Brad Jordan, known as Scarface, wrote on Instagram.Īfter a different mix of members had modest success as the Ghetto Boys in the late 1980s, the reformulated Geto Boys hit it big in 1991 with the hardcore hip-hop album “We Can’t Be Stopped” with its mix of gory, shocking and often misogynistic lyrics that tackled mental health issues, drugs and much more. The false death reports fooled other members of the Geto Boys and much of the hip-hop community. Bill was born as Richard Shaw in Jamaica and, after eventually settling in Houston, he initially took on the Litle Billy stage name and then became Bushwick Bill in shaping the Geto Boys as a trio with Scarface and Willie D, including the iconic “We Can’t Be Stopped” album in 1991 that would go onto be certified platinum for sales.īorn with dwarfism and growing to less than 4 feet tall, Shaw still stood tall in the hip-hop community, even releasing his debut solo album called “Little Big Man” in 1992.

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