Bushwick Bill of The Geto Boys dies at 52

(June 9, 2019) We are sad to inform SoulTrackers of the death of Bushwick Bill, one of key members of the 1990s hip hop group the Geto Boys, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Along with Bushwick Bill (originally known as “Little Billy”), the most popular version of the Geto Boys consisted of Scarface and Willie D.

By the time of the group’s first hit album, their 1990 self-titled disc, the lineup, which had changed dramatically over the years, was set with the trio. In the early 1990s, several American politicians attacked rap artists associated with the subgenre gangsta rap, including the Geto Boys. A high-profile incident in which Bushwick Bill lost an eye in a shooting helped boost sales of the group's 1991 album We Can't Be Stopped. The album cover features a graphic picture of the injured Bushwick being carted through a hospital by Scarface and Willie D. On the album's title track, the group responded to Geffen Records ending its distribution deal with Def American. The album featured the single, "Mind Playing Tricks on Me", which became a hit and charted at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After Willie D left the group, Scarface and Bushwick Bill continued with the Geto Boys with the addition of Big Mike who made his debut appearance with the group on 1993's album Till Death Do Us Part. Till Death Do Us Part was certified gold. The album spawned one top 40 hit in "Six Feet Deep" which peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequently, Big Mike was dropped and Willie D returned for 1996's critically acclaimed The Resurrection, and the 1998 followup Da Good Da Bad & Da Ugly, of which Bushwick Bill was not a part. After three years on hiatus, the group reunited in 2002 to record its seventh album, The Foundation, which was released on January 25, 2005.

Following the stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D joined Bill on a farewell tour, titled The Beginning of a Long Goodbye, The Final Farewell. A portion of the proceeds, being donated to pancreatic cancer awareness.