While the Geto Boys weren’t afforded the airplay of some of their contemporaries, they still managed to score multiple platinum albums and exerted a massive, lasting influence, particularly on Southern rap. “When you think about seminal hip-hop groups, there are others in that list - the Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, De La Soul - but the Geto Boys are definitely in that conversation.” A native Memphian, Meadows-Ingram co-authored Scarface’s new book, “Diary of a Madman: The Geto Boys, Life, Death, and the Roots of Southern Rap,” which recounts the group’s turbulent, triumphant journey. of the South - they were that influential, had that incredible of a catalog and laid the foundation for so much that came after them,” says hip-hop journalist Benjamin Meadows-Ingram. Formed in 1986, the group became a beacon of hip-hop’s golden era in the 1990s, releasing a string of hard-core classics like 1990’s eponymous LP, 1991’s “We Can’t Be Stopped” and 1993’s “Til Death Do Us Part.”

I think we’ve all grown in our own ways, but I still feel like everybody is the same.”Īlso intact is the Geto Boys’ music. Bill’s the same person he was 20 years ago, as is Willie. You get back in the group mode being back with the group. “I’m having a blast being back around the guys again. “We haven’t actually toured together as a group - staying in the same bus, the same hotels - in a long time,” says Scarface. Although they’ve broken up several times over the course of their nearly 30-year history, this latest reunion feels something more like a reformation than a one-off affair. The legendary Houston rap group - Scarface, Willie D and Bushwick Bill - have rejoined forces for a tour that will bring them to Memphis’ Reign nightclub on Thursday, July 2.

Difficult as it may be to believe, the Geto Boys are back.

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