Where You At? Bushwick Bill

We spend a lot of time here at the Tortoise General Blog deep in our studies of philosophy, medical science, and mathematics. It's our calling I guess. And one thing we keep noticing is that whenever the subject of algebra comes up we all turn our minds to Texas rapper and Geto Boys member Bushwick Bill. That guy was a good rapper! But whatever happened to him? Let's find out, in another edition of "The Tortoise General Presents: Where You At? Bushwick Bill"

Dr. Wolfgang Von Bushwickin

If you're not familiar with the Geto Boys at least on some level then this is really the wrong site for you. Go ahead and leave now, here is a link to assist you. Please go. The rest of us know that the Geto Boys were absolutely killing it back in the day. And doing it from Houston (of all places). Scarface is still one of the all time great MCs and his catalog is not to be skipped by anyone. His Geto Boys partners Willie D and Bushwick Bill are also well respected around here but never achieved the fame of Scarface. Here is a video of them at their absolute best...




That will never be topped. It's a good example of Scarface (the first guy) setting the bar ridiculously high and then Bushwick Bill (the last guy) easily sailing right over it (I guess I should mention that Scarface wrote the lyrics the the whole song, but Bill still murdered it). So this level of quality was a trend that continued for quite a while until the Geto Boys lost their position, sometime in the mid 90's, never to be heard from again (by the masses).

So who is this Bushwick Bill fella? Well, he's a Jamaican and not from Texas. That's interesting. AllHipHop.com called him a "menacing dwarf" which sounds mean but is also interesting. Wikipedia says that he "lost an eye in a shooting with his girlfriend [which] helped boost sales of [The Ghetto Boys] third album". That's very interesting! Tell me more, Wikipedia...

The most well-known event of Bushwick Bill's life was a shooting accident in which he lost his right eye. One night in May 1991, while depressed, drunk and suicidal, he went to his girlfriend's house and asked her to shoot him. She refused, and he threatened to harm their baby. After a struggle, the gun went off, piercing his eye, leaving a bullet stuck inside his head. He survived the accident, but lost his eye. The whole story is told in detail in the song "Ever So Clear" and its accompanying music video. The song name is a reference to the grain alcohol he was drinking at the time of the accident: Everclear. While in the hospital, a picture was taken for The Geto Boys' next album We Can't Be Stopped. In the album cover, the two other members of Geto Boys, Willie D and Scarface, are pushing a gurney down a hospital hall, and the bloodied swollen eye can clearly be seen.

HOLY CRAP! WHAT?  I never knew that picture was real, why would they do that? That's exploitative. Fame can lead people to weird places. I guess the lesson is to stay away from Everclear...and guns...and whoever decided that this picture was a good album cover. Stay away from all of that. Plus, now the weirdest thing about that picture isn't the hats, it's the real gunshot eye injury. But those hats are weird too. Is that one hat made out of leather? Did Bill wear his "Posse" hat into emergency eye surgery? Why are the Geto Boys pushing his gurney? Aren't hospital staff supposed to do that? Would Dr. Dre be qualified to push the gurney? GURNEY!

So what else can we say besides that elephant in the hospital? Uh, speaking of Dr. Dre, I guess Bill moved on from the whole "shot in the face thing" and recorded some vocals for Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" (WHAT? WHAT? WHERE?) and laid some vocals for Tha Dogg Pound (WHAT?). I've been a fan of early Deathrow and Bushwick Bill for years and I never made that connection. Is he really on there? What's my source on that?


Okay, so at some point Willie D left the Geto Boys and new blood was brought in, then the new blood was let out and Willie D was brought back in. Solo records were made, popularity waned, and the Geto Boys released their last album in 2005. Nope, I didn't buy that one.


Bushwick Bill has been laying kind of low since. After that last Geto Boys record he became a Christian, then he was arrested for posession of drugs (WHAT?). The drug arrest started a chain of events that  put him in prision for awhile and threatened him with deportation back to Jamaica. Yeeks. So, wow, uh, today Bushwick Bill seems to no longer be interested in performing with the Geto Boys at all, his focus is now on religious music. Apparently he'll only spit if he can spit the straight and narrow. Scarface and Willie D are not interested in that?

Bushwick Bill's last solo album came out in 2010 and it's called "My Testimony of Redemption". Let's check out a song...



It is nice to hear Bill's voice again. But is that the Bill that I grew up with? Sure it is! Bill is just spitting clean and honest, which is nice I guess, but Bill doesn't sound so happy about his time with the Geto Boys and his fame. I mean I'm glad that Bill found fufillment, but this ain't going to sell and it's not that good. I mean it's a little generic. Actually it's really boring. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, if you're going to go full Christian, go big, son. Innovate that business, make nothing stale. Yeh! Keep it so fresh. I mean look how much the Wu innovated and they couldn't be more religious. The well of Christianity is just as deep as that weird Wu stuff (I guess). 

In conclusion, I suspect that the trend of stale music will continue with Bill's forthcoming album "The Road to Redemption" which I will also not cop. Anyway, we wish Bushwick Bill the best in life and all success with his music. Peace to the master. And stop drinking and doing drugs, or keep at it, whatever, just make some good music.

My Mind is Playing Tricks Score 10/10
We Can't Be Stopped Cover Score 0/10
Testimony of Redemotion Score 2/10