We talked about the struggle as we knew the struggle. We talked about the streets as we knew the streets. “We didn’t have Broadway lights, all we had was street lights,” recalls Willie D. Masterminded by burgeoning rap mogul James Smith, Geto Boys rhymes touched on a slew of taboo topics including murder and necrophilia, and their sound stood in stark contrast to anything coming out of the East.
We felt like we were about to go to war because we knew we were up against a whole institution that discarded the South and disregarded the South.” We had the presence of mind to accept the challenge. “We felt like it was us against the world. “It was so organic,” says Willie D, reflecting on those early days in the studio. Recorded in 10 days for a mere $2,500, the album caught the ear of Def Jam architect Rick Rubin, who helped bring 5th Ward verisimilitude to the masses via his Def American label. In addition, the Houston rapper joined fellow Geto Boys Scarface and Bushwick Bill on Grip It! On That Other Level, effectively putting Rap-A-Lot records and Southern hip-hop on the map. Released that year, his solo debut LP Controversy memorably featured a cop, a Klansman, a bikini-clad female, and Willie D himself flexing through some overalls on the cover, and delivered on the promise of explicit lyrics and street raps tinged with political commentary. That’s rare in hip-hop.”ġ989 was a landmark year for William James Dennis, perhaps the most overlooked member of the group. We can go five, six, seven years without doing a show and you book a Geto Boys show and it’s sold out. We don’t have to put out a new album to have a sold out show. “They want us, and it feels good to know that we don’t have to put out a new album for people to want us, to want to do business with us, to want to see us. “They want Geto Boys,” says Willie D describing the group’s devoted fan base.
Hip-hop legend Willie D credits the show to fan response in San Antonio, and confirms select pretour dates in Austin, Chicago, and Washington D.C., but no real promise for a new Geto Boys album. With plans for an upcoming tour in the spring, the trio returns to the Alamo City for a tune-up performance that promises hefty doses of gangsta nostalgia. Since then, they’ve released two albums, 14 solo albums, and a slew of singles with actual performances coming few and far between. It’s been 15 years since Scarface, Bushwick Bill, and Willie D took the stage together as Geto Boys in San Antonio.
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