Geto Boys
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The Geto Boys are a gangsta rap group from Houston, Texas, consisting of Scarface, Willie D and Bushwick Bill. They are known for ultra-violent lyrical content and socially conscious messages. Their 1990 album, The Geto Boys, had to switch distributors from Geffen to Giant Records due to controversy over the graphic portrayal of rape, necrophilia, and murder in the song "Mind of a Lunatic".
In the early part of the decade, several American politicians attacked gangsta rappers, including the Geto Boys (though most famously Ice T and 2 Live Crew). A high-profile incident in which Bushwick Bill (actually a dwarf) lost an eye after being shot by his girlfriend helped sales for their third album We Can't Be Stopped, which showed Bushwick on the cover being carted in a hospital by Scarface and Willy D. They responded to being dropped by Geffen on the title track and "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" became a hit in the rap community.
All three members began solo careers, with Willie D. being the only one who actually left the group. Scarface and Bushwick Bill continued on, adding Big Mike for 'Til Death Do us Part in 1993. Willie D. returned for 1996's The Resurrection and 1998's Da Good, Da Bad & Da Ugly. After years on hiatus, they released their seventh album The Foundation in 2005.
The Geto Boys' popularity was helped somewhat in 1999 by the prominent use of two songs ("Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" and "Still") in Mike Judge's film Office Space.