{"id":425,"date":"2021-11-03T13:34:12","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T17:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/?p=425"},"modified":"2021-12-25T17:13:41","modified_gmt":"2021-12-25T21:13:41","slug":"geto-boys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/2021\/11\/03\/geto-boys\/","title":{"rendered":"Geto Boys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Geto Boys in the Fifth Ward: Raheem (Oscar Ceres, age 14), Sire Juke Box (Keith Rogers, age 15), and Sir Rap-A-Lot\/K-9 (Thelton Polk, age 19)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Geto Boys was a Houston based rap group that formed in 1986 and were the first to put Houston on the hip-hop map. Not only did they formulate a spotlight on hip-hop in the south, but they also introduced a new style of music, the genre of \u201cgangsta rap\u201d.  The rappers grew up in Houston’s fifth ward, a musically rich neighborhood in east downtown Houston. The fifth ward is also the home of musicians Arnett Cobb, Milton Larkin, and Illinois Jacquet. The neighborhood became predominantly black in the early 1900\u2019s. Geto Boys, originally \u201cGhetto Boys\u201d was first made up by \u201cLil\u2019 J\u201d Smith, owner of Rap-A-Lot Records, which consisted of members Keith Rogers (Sire Juke Box), Thelton Polk (K-9\/Sir Rap-A-Lot), and Oscar Ceres (Raheem). They released their first single \u201cCar Freak\u201d which didn\u2019t reach a wide audience. The group then added Bushwick Bill (Richard Shaw) and released the album \u201cMaking Trouble\u201d in 1988. Due to creative differences, the band members split and formed the New Geto boys that consisted of Bushwick Bill, Willie D (Willie Dennis), and Scarface (Brad Jordan). This remodel of the group led to the making of \u201cGrip It! On That Other Level\u201d, which received much more success than the previous album. This led to fame and fortune, and in return, controversy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Scarface, Bushwick Bill, and Willie D performing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

People don\u2019t want to hear that shit. People want to hear what\u2019s going on around them in everyday life\u2014war, blood, violence. It\u2019s okay for the President to start a war in Iraq, but it\u2019s not okay for me to talk about what I see around me in the ghetto.<\/p>Bushwick Bill <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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“We Can’t Be Stopped” album cover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This was one of the most popular album covers of their time. Pictured in the wheelchair is Bellwick Bill, who got into an altercation with his girlfriend and got shot in the eye, leading to the removal of his right eyeball. This portrays their violent and sexually explicit music in the most realistic way possible, right in the hospital. “We Can’t Be Stopped” was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. This album features their hit song “Mind Playing Tricks on Me”, which became a huge hit in Texas, NYC and LA, even though they did not receive much radio play time. These southern rappers even got their song on the Billboard pop charts. This legendary picture was attached to a legendary record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Review of “Till Death Do Us Part” by Da Hip Hop Vandal in 1993 for The Rice Thresher (Houston, Texas) Vol. 80 No.25 Ed.1 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

*TW\/\/ talks slightly about suicide<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A multi-instrumentalist from a long line of musical talent, Scarface had been a fan of metal as a kid. But growing up in Houston’s Southside introduced him to a different kind of hard rock: He went from dropout to local drug dealer coming up. He also spent some time in a hospital psych ward, after trying to kill himself once as a teenager. <\/p>

Learning to articulate his feelings must have contributed to making him the coldest songwriter in rap, more Southern Gothic than Edgar Allan Poe. Just listen to him in the song’s third verse: One moment he’s in church praying for an exit out the drug game; the next, he’s contemplating suicide. <\/p>Rodney Carmichael, NPR<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

An excerpt from NPR describes the influential musical taste of Scarface, and how that changed the formation and stylistic aspects of this new form of rap. The experiences each member had growing up in the Fifth Ward, and how that was incorporated into the music.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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