The Official Smokeout Wrapup featuring: Goodie Mob, Sen Dog, Murs, Sunspot Jonz, Devin The Dude, DJ Muggs, Bushwick Bill and Willie D. If you missed it….damn.

Former Geto Boys member Wiilie D (If he’s convicted, we will know what the D stands for: Dumb Ass), has pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of wire fraud, according to court papers.

According to The Houston Press, Willie D, real name William James Dennis, allegedly posed as an online salesman for a company that was selling the iPhone. Dennis would then proceed to take the orders through eBay as well as other online channels.

The crime being considered is once the funds were sent, they were transferred into the rapper’s account. In order to fool the buyers, he sent out fake tracking numbers, but never sent them the iPhone. When the buyers tried to get in contact and figure out where their purchase was, Dennis reportedly told them that their package was lost in the mail. He would not provide refunds for the buyers until he was able to find the whereabouts of the alleged phone.

The case was made known when an overseas purchaser made a complaint with the authorities.

Returning from a trip overseas, Dennis was detained by federal authorities at Bush Intercontinental after being indicted for his relationship with a company named Texas One Wireless.

Although he was released after posting his bond in May, there have been particular restrictions placed on the rapper. He was forced to give up his passport and is not allowed to travel past Harris County, Texas.

Along with this, his Internet privileges have also been taking away. His attorney, Stanley Schneider, tried to argue against this stating that it hindered on him being able to continue to manage his rap career.

A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for the rapper on July 27 where jury will also be selected. If the rapper is found guilty of the charges faced against him in the alleged scam, Willie D will face up to 20 years inside a federal prison and will have to pay a fine of $250,000.

I guess Willie meant when he said, “I ain’t wit’ being broke.”

just got back from the bar. thinking DAMN if people like kanye have a frequently updated (devoid of grammatical convention) blog why can’t i ever find the time to write some bullshit?

the lebomb james is a drink that is sweeping the…uh people from my fraternity who are taking summer classes on campus. it’s essentially a whiskey bomb – Crown Royal in some Red Bull, all topped off with rubbing salt in your hands and throwing it up in the air like LJ23 in the games/commercials. it’s really fun to take

anyways, sober posts worth reading coming to a MacBook Air near Brooklyn soon

Geto Boys – Yes Yes Y’all

this song was like the comeback Geto Boys single. look out for Bushwick Bill’s show-stealing first verse. don’t even want to tease the lyrics. one of my favorites. and the beat bangs in the trunk

no, fuck it i should just post the whole verse:

Well this is Chuck Dawg (will you ever love another bitch?)
Fuck nah! (What’s your position on a snitch homey?)
Fuck laws! (They say the Beatles was the biggest)
Nigga fuck Paul, and the rest of y’all!
I’m the little motherfucker with the big dick swangin
Nuts still hangin, got hoes singin the blues
Geto Boys in this bitch still bangin
And ain’t shit changin, ain’t shit changin
Don’t like faggots, hate politicians
Can’t stand snitches, know the Feds listen
So I, send the whole world a fuck you note
Schumacher’s got a desk job, fuck you hoes!

Classic shit. Where TX at?!?!

Founding member of the historic rap group “The Geto Boys”, Willie D was busted by the Feds for allegedly running a scam involving iphones. Willie D A.K.A. William James Dennis was arrested after an indictment for his relationship with Texas One Wireless. Check it out. If convicted he faces 20 years. What the hell is going on? Rappers buggin’ out….

AllHipHop.com Daily News – : Willie D Busted For iPhone Scam; Faces 30 Years.

Bushwick Bill – Little Big Man

Year: 1992

Back in the 90s, on my journeys through the record stores, I wasn’t only searching for vinyl and CDs, I was looking for info, too. Not the easiest of tasks, with rap music being generally overlooked, and the internet as we know it today wasn’t invented yet. So, it was all about the printed word back then. World of Music (WOM, a now closed music chainstore here in Berlin) had a magazine shelf with all the goodies, Rap Pages, The Source, etc. Prices were ridiculous, so I had to skip through the pages right there in the store, like an information-thief if you will.

From one of those instances I remember reading that Bushwick Bill’s solo debut only got 2.5 of the legendary 5 mics. Well,  I didn’t expect it to get a high rating, but what bothered me were the harsh words of the reviewer. Feces, that’s what he basically called the album. I was a little dissapointed to read that, because for me, it lived up to all the expectations I had when I found out he’s gonna release a solo. I think that was when I saw Ever So Clear on MTV, and it blew my mind. I didn’t rest until I had the album in my hands after that. And from that day, each mixtape that I listened to in my walkman contained at least 3 Bushwick-songs.

The title track, Little Big Man, was the perfect introduction to an hour of heavy funk-riffs and bloody carnage. Sometimes represented by his alter ego Chuckie (the murderous puppet from Child’s Play), Bill kicked his no-holds-barred, evil lyrics on tracks like Call Me Crazy, Skitso and Chuckwick (a reprise to the Chuckie-track contained on the Geto Boys “We Can’t Be Stopped”-album). Listening to the record right now, I still have to say that the beats James Smith and John Bido provided just fit him perfectly. The tracks just got that 90s, 5th Ward Texas vibe going on, really funky beats with disturbing lyrical content.

There was one thing the man from The Source and I agreed upon, though. The standout track on this album is Ever So Clear, the deep, self-reflecting story of how Bushwick Bill lost his eye. Most of the other tracks were too misogynistic and violent for the magazine, with the whole psychopathic killer image that the reviewer thought was dated.

For me, this remains the best solo effort from a Geto Boy since Mr. Scarface Is Back. I listened to that album many times, I still do, and I still think it’s great. I is not a 60 minute murder spree, sometimes Bill even brings positive vibes to the table (like on Letter To The KKK, also acknowledged by The Source).

In the same issue (October 1992), Willie D’s “Goin’ Out Lika Soldier” only got 2.5 mics as well. To each his own, I guess. Me, I put the magazine back on the shelf, went home, and probably listened to some Geto Boys.

Bushwick Bill – Little Big Man

Jahr: 1992

Früher war ich oft bei WOM (World of Music, gibt es – zumindest hier in Berlin – nicht mehr), hab in den Platten und CDs gekramt und mir die importierten HipHop-Magazine durchgeblättert, immer auf der Suche nach Infos, Internet gab’s ja noch nicht. Ich hatte noch in Erinnerung, dass “Little Big Man” von Bushwick Bill im “The Source”-Magazin nicht besonders gut weggekommen ist. Nach einigem Suchen stieß ich auf diesen (im übrigen sehr empfehlenswerten) Blog, der alle Ausgaben der Source nach und nach verfügbar macht. Gute Sache, die Oktober-Ausgabe von 1992 war es also.  Und tatsächlich, nur 2.5 von 5 Mics, und dazu ein paar wenig herzliche Worte des Autors. Damals war ich ziemlich… sagen wir mal, irritiert. Immerhin war ich zu der Zeit schwer unter dem Einfluss des kleinen großen Mannes unterwegs. Meine selbstgemachten Mixtapes beinhalteten immer eine gute Portion von diesem Album, um mich per Walkman zu begleiten.  Der Titeltrack Little Big Man hat mir beim ersten Hören ein breiteres Lächeln verpasst als so manch andere, auch nicht gerade unangenehme Erfahrung dieser Zeit. Der denkbar beste Einstieg in ein Album, das vor schweren Funk-Riffs und verbalen Gewaltexzessen nur so strotzt. Bushwick mordet sich durch Lieder wie Call Me Crazy, Skitso und Chuckwick, gerappt von Bill’s alter ego  “Chuckie”, nimmt sich in erstaunlich nachdenklicher Weise den Klan vor (Letter to the KKK), oder fordert mit seinen Jungs “Take your motherfuckin’ draws off, bitch!” (Take’Em Off).

In einer Hinsicht zumindest sind der Source-Mann und ich uns einig: der Höhepunkt des Albums ist Track Nummer 8, “Ever So Clear” (siehe unten), auf dem Bushwick Bill darüber reflektiert, wie er sein Auge verlor. Ansonsten urteilte die Source: Texte zu brutal, zu frauenfeindlich, und das Psychopathen-Image überholt.

Für mich bleibt dieses Album das beste von Bushwick, und – neben “Mr. Scarface is Back” – auch das beste Solo-Album eines Geto Boys überhaupt. Genau die richtigen Beats von James Smith und John Bido mit diesem gewissen 90er Down-South-Feeling, textlich gesehen natürlich nur für Hartgesottene, aber das war man aus dem 5th Ward ja sowieso nie anders gewohnt.

Definitiv ein Muss.

In der gleichen Ausgabe der Source erhielt übrigens Willie D’s “Goin’ Out Lika Soldier” auch nur 2.5 von den berühmten 5 Mics. Naja, jedem seine Meinung. Ich hab mir jedenfalls die 10 DM für die Zeitschrift bei WOM gespart, bin nach Hause gegangen und hab die Geto Boys gehört.

Tracklist

1.Intro

2.Little Big Man

3.Stop Lying

4.Call Me Crazy

5.Chuckwick

6.Don’t Come To Big

7.Ever So Clear

8.Copper To Cash

9.Dollars And Sense

10.Letter From KKK

11.Take Em’ Off

12.Skitso

“Because we got the streets suckas … damn you ni–azzzz.” … 


That’s the howl that initiates, or jumps in, the listener. From there, rapper Mc Ren, formerly of N.W.A., laid the fucking wood. The WOOD. Shock of the Hour (which is out of print and starts at $25 on CD on Amazon, which is fucking ridiculous, everyone had this CD) is a rough-and-tumble gangsta joint through and through, and in retrospect it is quite hilarious.


You can’t listen to a few couplets without references to machine guns, hoes and bitches, the ‘N’ wizord (always), and, haha, scrapping. You wanna scrap foo? HUH? Bitch-ass trick; you know I wrote about this once befo’ … If it weren’t for the amazing production I’m not sure I’d have cared about this crass genre exercise.


It has most of the classic traits of the era. There’s bass, sirens, some scratchety-scratch-scribble, whatever. And, perhaps best of all, much of the record is totally, totally weak, just like so many solo excursions of the time were (I’ll probably appraise Bushwick Bill’s shit soon, come to think of it).


Oh, and there’s a guest rapper lineup of quick, lizard-like tongues (Dollar Bill/Da Konvicted Felon/Don Jaguar). Hmmm. Shock of the Hour lies somewhere between that awful RBX solo album and, say, a Spice 1 album. It’s not awkward and only glimpsing at glory — it packs four deadly tracks into its revolver — yet it definitely, definitely isn’t great.


Everything considered, four out of 11 songs ain’t bad if you think about how many full-lengthers coast on two or even one alpha singles (again, that RBX album; it made sense for about four minutes). Did I mention the sexism? I’ll just quote this verbatim: “Do you wanna fuck her? Everybody fucks her / The bitch is a hoe, yo I thought I’d let you know.” That’s an excerpt from one of the weaker tunes, of which there are several, as mentioned. “Mayday on the Frontline” is shockingly boring and out of date and was even in 9-to-the-3 (much like the preceding poetic device), aimless in execution and full of crazy hateful harangues against the white man. 


Which I love, don’t get me wrong, but Ren was the mang that would take it to that extra-mean level where he’s not just pissed off at whitie (which, again, is not only acceptable but encouraged); he’s looking to maybe, you know, cleanse whitie from the earth: “He’s been shot in the chest, yo, he’s a redneck, huh, throw him with the rest of the bodies we be buryin’, Two million ni–as got guns and carry ‘em. Shoot people first and ask questions later, just like a ni–a was a terminator.” 


Sweet! Would you believe me if I told you there’s a song with even crazier shit going on in it involving black-on-white violence? Drink it in, people. Rhymes like this made Shock of the Hour extra crazy, extra detached from giving any weight to that still, small voice that says, “Hey, should I encourage others to commit violent acts?” 


And, further confusing you, I’m going to drop another shit-bomb on you: That’s what’s awesome about this record, its inherent racism and violence.


I can’t think of anything more appealing than hearing someone talk about killing lots of white people, probably white people from the suburbs just like me. It gets me going. In fact, I’d almost go as far as to say that more — yes! — MORE violence would be just fine in place of some of the grosser raps about hoes (“Stomach full of nuts” and such) … 


Picking up where I left off, there is a distinctly crude flavor to the lyrics presented here that represent just how dark and, again, awesome, things were getting in rap at the time. You had to say some sick SHIT to survive (remember Brotha Lynch Hung? Shit, might have to write about that foo’).


It’s vaguely sad, the lengths some of these dudes went to deplore, but then again if you look at some of the death- and black-metal exploits of a few, isolated (as always) bands, you could make a case for ridiculous, disturbing behavior there, too. 


That’s why metal is awesome. It’s all a wash, so I just enjoy the shit. The cheap synth phrases are so prominent on album-highlight “Fuck What Ya Heard” I can’t stop going back just to hear them over and over again. They implore me to continue to dig this vile, wretched rap music. Us white folk can’t get enough of the stuff. I’m just waitin’ for the gangsta revival.

Taking a short break from posting freebie mixtapes (though there’s a handful more to come), I’m about to get back to the realness for a minute. Or, in the case of Geto Boys, the surrealness. Whereas west coast gangsta rap of the late 80s and early 90s was very much centred upon what’s really real (think realistic accounts of street life, drug dealing, ‘hood tales, sex, etc.), Geto Boys were much more focussed upon that which wasn’t real, except for in their demented minds.

Drawing upon the staple elements of any good gangsta rap song – i.e. violence, drugs and sex – the Geto Boys took these themes and ran with them to the most extreme, creating perverted fantasies surrounding, amongst others, themes of hyperviolence, death, and even necrophilia.

It wasn’t always that way, though. The original line up of the Ghetto Boys outfit is nothing like we recognise it to be today. The lineup present for 1988’s Making Trouble was minus Scarface and Willie D, yet plus Prince Jonny C and Jukebox, along with DJ Reddy Red and Bushwick “Little Billy” Bill. Following the breakup of the original group – who were always somewhat tamer than the later incarnation – only Bushwick Bill and DJ Reddy Red reamined members of the new set, hot to trot for their ‘debut’ album Grip It! On That Other Level.

DJ Reddy Red would depart shortly after, leaving the group as a trio, only for Willie D to leave in 1992 and be replaced by Big Mike until he (Willie D) re-joined the group. As such, Big Mike provides vocals for their 1993 album Till Death Do Us Part, which proved to be a rather ironic title. The group as a trio would eventually stay together – tentatively – for a further three albums, spanning almost a decade between 1996 and 2005. Alongside these recordings, all three members continued to venture into solo waters, clocking up around 30 studio albums, mixtapes and unrelated group projects between them.

To this day, Geto Boys remain one of the most prolific hip-hop acts ever, not least because of their sheer hard work and unadulterated daily musical grind. Bushwick Bill and especially Scarface continue to release solo work to this day – of varying degrees of quality – whereas Willie D has been somewhat quieter this decade. Despite their numerous and highly confusing line-up changes, they remain one of the cornerstones of regional rap, and ‘gangsta’/hardcore rap overall.

Though there are a couple of duds in the catalogue (and many in their solo discographies), each and every one of the Geto Boys‘ albums is worth checking for, for its own special reasons. Grip It! / Geto Boys (essentially the same album) and We Can’t Be Stopped are quite simply rap staples that everyone should at least try to hear. Most Geto Boys albums have been out-of-print at one time, yet they have been re-issued at various points over the years.  Please buy these records from a legit store if you are able to do so.

A partial discography appears below, as well as a group member breakdown, though for reasons of time (and space!), I would find it near-impossible to list all of their solo ventures on this blog:

>>click on each title to download<<

Title: Making Trouble (WITH FULL ALBUM ARTWORK)
Year: 1988
Members: Prince Jonny C, Jukebox, DJ Reddy Redd, Little Billy (later Bushwick Bill)

Title: Grip It! On That Other Level
Year: 1989
Members: Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill, DJ Reddy Redd

Title: Geto Boys (essentially a re-package of Grip It!, plus 3 new tracks) (WITH FULL ALBUM ARTWORK)
Year: 1990
Members: Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill, DJ Reddy Redd

Title: We Can’t Be Stopped (WITH FULL ALBUM ARTWORK)
Year: 1991
Members: Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill

Title: Till’ Death Do Us Part
Year: 1993
Members: Scarface, Bushwick Bill, Big Mike

Title: The Resurrection
Year: 1996
Members: Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill

Title: Da Good, Da Bad & Da Ugly (WITH FULL ALBUM ARTWORK)
Year: 1998
Members: Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill

Title: The Foundation
Year: 2005
Members: Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill

New uncut video from Scarface off of his latest album Emeritus “High Note” 

Best known as the dwarf dude from Houston’s Geto Boys, Bushwick Bill put out a solo album in 1998 called No Surrender … No Retreat.   It had the usual kind of gangsta rap stuff, including the soulful love ballad “My Bitch.”   Bill tells his lover ”you gonna be my bitch tonight,” and his lover responds, “you gonna be my pimp tonight.”

The Geto Boys started in the late 1980s in Houston, Texas, and the trio included Bill, Scarface and Willie D.  Famously, the cover photo from the group’s third album We Can’t Be Stopped was taken in a Houston hospital after Bushwick Bill was accidentally (or not) shot in the face, destroying his right eye.   In the early 1990s American politicians and media whores attacked gangsta music, including that of Ice-T and the 2 Live Crew, as violent and race-baiting.  The Geto Boys re-emerged in 1999 with two songs on the soundtrack of the cult classic Office Space. 

Since his gangsta days, Bushwick Bill has since renounced his past and has supposedly become a born-again Christian, even releasing a Christian rap album called Testimony of Redemption.   However, he reunited with his Geto Boys bandmates in July 2008 and performed the old songs, so who knows?

“My Bitch” is not the greatest rap song ever – that would have to be this, by Bill’s Geto Boy-mate Willie D.  But it’s close, and if you even think that “My Bitch” is not NFSW (not safe for work), you are most certainly in the wrong place.

MP3: “My Bitch” by Bushwick Bill

Bushwick Bill’s MySpace page

I’m So Throwed in the Game……Dj Dmd’s “25 Lighters” will keep any party bouncing still to this day, the record dropped in 1999 and was largely overshadowed by Lil’ Troy’s “Wanna be a Baller” which also features Screwed up Click vet. Fat Pat which dropped around the same time.  The H-town movement as it is now, never really solidified untill 2002 when Mike Jones, Paul Wall & Slim Thug dropped Still Tippin, and the rest is history.  peep the uncut below…           HHTT Got the Internet Goin Nuts

Scarface dropped Emeritus on tuesday it’s his 9th solo album not to mention various group albums with the Geto Boys and the Product etc. Emeritus which means “retired but retaining an honorary title”  is fittingly going to be Uncle Face’s last album.  The album features Bun B, Lil Wayne, Z-Ro, The Product, Bilal and Wacko of UTP, with production by Cool and Dre, Illmind, Sha Money Xl, Nottz and Jake One amongst others.  Below is the title track “Emeritus”   Official Video for the single “High Powered” where Facemob takes shots at Houston’s Lil Troy (wannabe a baller?)  

MF Doom looks less than happy to be on the list

7. Biz Markie

6. Humpty Hump

5. Bushwick Bill (arguably deserving of number one)

4. Del tha Funkee Homosapien

3. Gravediggaz

2. Flava Flav

… and coming in at number one, the mask wearing MF DOOM

King Mag gives a fantastic description of Doom, “British-born MC Daniel Dumile found success in the early ‘90s as a part of the hip hop trio KMD, but after his record label dropped him and his brother was killed, the rapper fell into a deep depression. Broke, confused and practically homeless, Dumile wandered the streets and plotted his revenge. Years later he reemerged as MF Doom, a mask-wearing microphone marauder hell-bent on revenge against the industry that chewed him up and spit him out. Since then, Doom has never been seen without his mask.”

check out the full article here here. 

by Bob Dobalina

Thanks again to Pete for inviting us to the show! Great times… ( Sneakerpimps )