Geto Boys

About

Also known as: Ghetto Boys, The Geto Boys, The Ghetto Boys

Few rap groups hit as hard or stirred up as much controversy as the Geto Boys. Formed in Houston in 1986, the trio of Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill pushed gangsta rap into genuinely unsettling territory, rapping about violence, psychotic experiences, and drug addiction with a raw intensity that made distributors nervous and politicians furious. Their 1991 album We Can't Be Stopped came with an album cover so graphic it was impossible to ignore, and it contained their biggest chart moment, the single 'Mind Playing Tricks on Me', which reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group is widely credited with putting Southern hip hop on the map, and their influence stretched far and wide, touching artists from 2Pac and Eminem to Outkast and Lil Wayne. Their song 'Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta' found a whole new audience after it appeared in Mike Judge's film Office Space in 1999. About.com ranked them tenth on its list of the 25 Best Rap Groups of All Time, calling them southern rap pioneers. The group remained active until the death of Bushwick Bill in June 2019.