Still committed to his vision, Smith decided to try again in 1988.
But the group disintegrated before they had a chance to build on that achievement. ” The three original Geto Boys, Jukebox, Raheem, and Sir Rap-A-Lot, had a hit in 1986 with “Car Freaks, ” their first single. The group was formed in 1986 at Rap-A-Lot Records, an independent Houston-based label, when owner/producer James Smith decided that he needed an outfit that could express “the street ”: the experiences with which he had grown up in the slums of Houston ’s Fifth Ward, what the Source ’s Adario Strange referred to as “Houston ’s most notorious war zone.
The name “The Geto Boys ” actually refers to a shifting cast of rappers, several of whom have gone on to solo careers since departing the Boys. The discussion as a whole fit into a contemporaneous debate about music and censorship that also concerned rap acts 2 Live Crew and Ice Cube. While hardcore rap is praised by some for its candid depiction of a tense inner-city life created by poverty and racial discrimination, many reviewers and listeners felt that these rappers had gone beyond the line of acceptability. In the midst of an effort to broaden the group ’s market, Geffen Records, a large record label and distribution company that had contracted to release the Geto Boys ’ first major-label album, backed out -and immediately sparked a public controversy. Hard-core Houston rappers the Geto Boys inspired an incident in 1990 that smacked of censorship and, consequently, catapulted them to either fame or infamy, depending on one ’s perspective. Critical Applause for Beats, if Not Lyrics
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