Bushwick Bill

I’m writing to pay my respects to Houston rapper Bushwick Bill.  He was truly a unique and talented individual.  None of us will ever see anything like him again.  He was charming, eloquent and very short.  He was a dwarf and didn’t stand four feet tall.  Bill and his bandmates from the Geto Boys were one of my favorites from the 1990s rap scene.  He died earlier this week after a long illness at age fifty two.

Their most popular song is “My Mind is Playing Tricks on Me”.  It’s about an ongoing struggle with schizophrenic episodes.  It’s a classic.  Now that I think about it there were a few 90s hits across genres about mental illness.  The Geto Boys music is dark, introspective, edgy and honest.  It was filthy and gritty.  They didn’t ask for sympathy or pity.  They didn’t try to be heroes.  They simply and artistically told their stories of Houston ghetto life with sharp wit and intelligence.  I will always have an appreciation for the Geto Boys and artists like them.

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/10/731076691/bushwick-bill-of-houston-rap-group-geto-boys-dead-at-52