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I heard it on long car rides out in the Texas country with my mom, brother and sister. My late mother suffered from depression and other undiagnosed mental health issues it became her favorite song of all time. ” It was released in 1991, two years after I was born. Like many fans, my introduction to Bushwick Bill was his closing verse on the Geto Boys’ most popular song, “ Mind Playing Tricks on Me. Prince of Bill’s abilities, who then made Bill an official MC in the group, and one-third of the group’s most iconic lineup - alongside Houstonians Willie D and Scarface: The Geto Boys. As Bill told it, while he was a dancer for the Rap-A-Lot group the Ghetto Boys, producer John Bido heard him reciting Public Enemy’s “ Rebel Without a Pause. It wasn’t until he moved to the South - Houston, specifically - that he tried his hand at rapping.
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He was a “breakdancing genius,” according to a 2014 conversation with the Canadian interviewer Nardwuar, and also dabbled in graffiti work and DJing. Photo credit: Gary Miller/FilmMagicīushwick Bill began his career as a dancer after moving to Brooklyn from his homeland of Jamaica. Scarface, Bushwick Bill and Willie D of the Geto Boys perform in concert at Emo’s on Januin Austin, Texas. With Willie D standing to his right and Scarface to his left, Bill, swollen from the trauma of a gunshot wound to the face, holds an era-appropriate cell phone up to his ear, the gauze that was supposed to be covering his injured eye pulled down. Ever the cunning businessman, Prince ordered Bill’s groupmates Scarface and Willie D to go to the hospital and take what would become one of the most iconic album cover photos ever for We Can’t Be Stopped. Prince, founder of the Rap-A-Lot label Bill was signed to as a member of the Geto Boys, got word of what had happened. In his own words, he hopped up, pulled out a catheter, urinated in a cup, and sent the patrolling officer and hospital tech running. According to Bill, he had a toe tag and was being prepared for an autopsy. Less than three hours after his “death,” he awoke in the morgue. The rapper, born Richard Stephen Shaw, was only 24 at the time, but he had already lived multiple lives. He shot himself in the eye that day, after suicidal ideations and a prolonged argument with his girlfriend. On June 19th, 1991, Bushwick Bill was pronounced dead.