His most well-known song, 1992’s “ Ever So Clear ” from Little Big Man, tells the story behind the shooting that ultimately led to the loss of his right eye. It was a song that put Texas rap on the map and inspired other acts coming out of the state, like UGK, who heard the song frequently on the radio and dedicated themselves to matching its success.īill carried the theatrics of his “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” delivery into his solo work. “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” went Gold, and reached No. Home is where I finally and fully appreciate the verses of Scarface and Willie D, but especially Bushwick Bill, whose presence on the track lit my mother’s eyes up with joy, and later brought life back into my own. Home is where I am now, recovering from another manic episode and a paranoid schizophrenic diagnosis. When I watch the video back now, I see genuine smiles on both of our faces, despite the gravity of the circumstances that brought me home.
The easiest way to do that was by playing music that we loved - including “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” As dedicated millennials, we hopped right on Snapchat to recite lines of Bushwick Bill’s verse: “Then I felt just like a fiend / It wasn’t even close to Halloween,” we recalled, with accompanying hand gestures. I wasn’t quite myself, and my sister was determined to get me back on track. My mother had long since passed, so home meant my sister’s apartment. Upon being discharged from a Bronx hospital, I came home to Texas. “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” was a family anchor, but it became something more for me once I was diagnosed as bipolar 1 in 2016. My mom wouldn’t recite Scarface or Willie D’s complete verses, instead mimicking the bass line of the song, borrowed from Isaac Hayes’ “Hung Up on My Baby.” I heard it on long car rides out in the Texas country with my mom, brother and sister. My late mother suffered from depression and other undiagnosed mental health issues it became her favorite song of all time. ” It was released in 1991, two years after I was born. Like many fans, my introduction to Bushwick Bill was his closing verse on the Geto Boys’ most popular song, “ Mind Playing Tricks on Me. Prince of Bill’s abilities, who then made Bill an official MC in the group, and one-third of the group’s most iconic lineup - alongside Houstonians Willie D and Scarface: The Geto Boys. As Bill told it, while he was a dancer for the Rap-A-Lot group the Ghetto Boys, producer John Bido heard him reciting Public Enemy’s “ Rebel Without a Pause. It wasn’t until he moved to the South - Houston, specifically - that he tried his hand at rapping. He was a “breakdancing genius,” according to a 2014 conversation with the Canadian interviewer Nardwuar, and also dabbled in graffiti work and DJing. Photo credit: Gary Miller/FilmMagic Gary Miller/FilmMagicīushwick Bill began his career as a dancer after moving to Brooklyn from his homeland of Jamaica. Scarface, Bushwick Bill and Willie D of the Geto Boys perform in concert at Emo’s on Januin Austin, Texas.
With Willie D standing to his right and Scarface to his left, Bill, swollen from the trauma of a gunshot wound to the face, holds an era-appropriate cell phone up to his ear, the gauze that was supposed to be covering his injured eye pulled down. Ever the cunning businessman, Prince ordered Bill’s groupmates Scarface and Willie D to go to the hospital and take what would become one of the most iconic album cover photos ever for We Can’t Be Stopped. Prince, founder of the Rap-A-Lot label Bill was signed to as a member of the Geto Boys, got word of what had happened. In his own words, he hopped up, pulled out a catheter, urinated in a cup, and sent the patrolling officer and hospital tech running. According to Bill, he had a toe tag and was being prepared for an autopsy.
Less than three hours after his “death,” he awoke in the morgue. The rapper, born Richard Stephen Shaw, was only 24 at the time, but he had already lived multiple lives.
He shot himself in the eye that day, after suicidal ideations and a prolonged argument with his girlfriend. On June 19th, 1991, Bushwick Bill was pronounced dead.