The Strong Foundation That Is Geto Boys

Well, I don’t know how strong the foundation really is, but the fucking spirit still soars high.


king d-e-e...

Last night I made the trek out to Konnections 2005 for the first time, which is pathetic cuz DJ Chill and DJ Wiz have been doing Sunday nights there forever.


djs wiz and chill...

Located at I-10 and Gessner, which in the fog and rain that blanketed the city last night, seemed to be about 45 miles from my house (when in reality it’s like 10), Konnections is a huge Tejano club or some shit every other night, but on Sunday it just explodes with crunk love every week, just after the Simpsons. I’ma assume that there were about 2000 people in that joint, partying up a fucking storm. And with good reason, the boys that started it all for Houston were in the house.


spot the chief...

I got to the spot at about 11:45 or so and spotted DJ Chill outside. He reintroduced me to Mean Green, who I have met a million times, just haven’t seen recently, and gave me a VIP ticket. Boys at the door didn’t want to let me in with the camera, but Xavier from Rap A Lot and Chill basically pushed me through and it was all good.


dj wiz and the man cap'n jack...

I walked in expecting big things. I kind of figured that since this was the first Geto Boys show in close to ten years and that since this new Geto Boys album really is fuckin’ jammin’ (I’ll post a review soon) the place would be packed with celebrities. Meaning, maybe some of the folks who are currently making waves in the rap game would show up and support their founding fathers. Nope, not a one from outside of Rap A Lot. I saw Zro in the VIP, which was really just a roped off section next to the stage,




super producer cory mo in the spot...

Cory Mo, who produced a few tracks on the Foundation, and then some of my cats like LRJ, Longpaper University, Wicket Cricket, etc... Other than that nobody. No Lil Flip, no Slim Thug, no Mike Jones, no Chamillionaire, no Paul Wall, no nobody. What the fuck?


but of course longtime face mgr bw was in the house...

See, this gets said all the time, but I’m going to reiterate it here. Houston needs a lil dose of fucking unity. It’s a pretty supportive city for this music, fan wise, but when it comes to the artists out here, too many of them are on some shit. You go to a release party in Atlanta and you’ll see half the Atlanta scene up in that bitch. Lil Jon throws a party and you’re gonna see every fucking mug you see on the videos everyday up in that bitch. The Geto Boys throw a party, and none of these motherfucking Houston cats can even show up for a few minutes to show support? Maybe I’m taking shit too seriously, but the Geto Boys are some icons in this rap game. The Geto Boys opened so many doors for reality rap (and slammed many of them on themselves too, o.k., o.k. I know) and really, with Rap A Lot, set the stage for this whole independent revolution that so many young entrepreneurs are getting rich off of in the south. But these young fuckin’ bucks obviously don’t care.


live like that...

I mean, I’m one to talk. I don’t go to clubs all that often. But if there’s a genuine event, I’m talking about some shit that I feel I just can’t miss out of either anticipation, obligation or plain respect, then I’ma be up in the house. Tonight was one of those nights. After seeing Scarface rip it with the full band last week, then picking up the Foundation on Tuesday (actually Devin the Dude gave it to me) I was pumped. It’s been a while since I have been pumped for a concert. But believe me, I was fucking pumped.


dj keno...

And so were the 2000 or so people who surrounded me. Just before 1 a.m. or so, the opening act, the Bad Akktors took the stage. I got their CD last week, and it’s actually pretty good. Boys got some skills, and while they don’t stray too far away from the typical, they know how to put together some jams. Bad thing is, they did what so many groups before them have done, and that’s bring 50 people on stage with them. Seriously, I didn’t even try to make my way to the swarm at the stage, but from where I was standing I really couldn’t figure out who the fuck was rapping. It looked like a Mardi Gras float up there or some shit. Boys just whyling out, posing for the crowd, throwing it up, being nutty, and I was like, yo, “Can some of y’all fools please get the fuck off the stage, I can’t even tell who the group is.” But nobody heard the voices in my head.


who dat is...

Anyway that went on for about 15 minutes maybe, and then the stage was cleared, then packed once again with folks, for the Geto Boys. Scarface hit the stage first and if I wasn’t such a stoner, I could tell you what he opened with. All I remember is that he launched into “Mary Jane” after that and in his best Jeff Spicoli voice just kept saying “I’m a stoner dude...” After that Willie D came out, and they ran through some of the classics, but there was no Bushwick? Scarface said something like “Bushwick is having a moment,” and he was obviously pissed about something.


bushwicks moment maybe...

I don’t know, but finally he came out and did some solo shit (forgive me, but even though I have listened to every Geto Boys album hundreds of times, I can’t fucking remember the names of all the songs, I’m the worst at playing Name That Tune, seriously. Plus like 6 hash doobs didn’t help), jumped around a bit and kind of gave off some weird vibes, which the crowd immediately noticed. At this point I was on the stage, taking photos and I was watching the faces in the crowd a bit. A lot of the young cats there, may not even know who the hell Bushwick is, and I think his “Chuckwick” routine might have freaked a few of them out. It was crazy, he was all spinning around, jumping up and down, and at one point laid on the floor for a second. A true entertainer.


chuckwick...

Which has always been a strength for the Geto Boys. All of them know how to rock a tight show. All of them come packed with so much energy and emotion that they can’t help but explode on stage, and to this day, fifteen years since I first saw them perform, they’ve still got it. Sadly, I don’t think any of them, except maybe Willie D - who really held the whole fucking show together, knows what they really have with the Geto Boys. The Geto Boys were an international phenomenon and to this day, they have fans in every country around the world who have never seen them perform. They rarely tour, in fact I think they only really ever did one legitimate, extended tour around the Def American days, and that’s a damn shame. Three of the best performers in hip hop, a group who not only made great records, but had an impact on an entire culture and they can’t get it together enough to simply be on stage together more than once a decade? They really don’t know what they have got, and to me that shit is sad.


face makes my camera blurry...

A lot of these Houston mahfuckers don’t understand what the fuck they’ve got. But I guess that’s a topic for a later date.

For example, I’ve been to Germany like 5 times. Everytime I go there, I meet someone who when I say “I’m from Houston” to them, they respond with something like, “Oh Houston? Do you know Geto Boys? Do you live in 5th Ward?” Of course I say yeah I know the Geto Boys and no I don’t live in 5th Ward, though I do live just a few short blocks from the corner that used to be J. Prince’s carlot - the first Rap A Lot office of sorts. Anyway, the Geto Boys have fans all over the world, yet have never performed outside the United States. Hell, their US performances have even been limited.

That shit is just stupid to me yo, they could have so much.


j. prince minding his investment...

Anyway, the show went on for about 40 minutes, and at about 2:15 or so, they threw the houselights on and started rustling people out the door as the Boys performed the only cut they did off the new album, that I can remember, “Yes, Yes, Y’all.” More disrespect, but that’s how it is in these nightclubs. They lock you in the motherfucker all night, so you buy drinks ALL NIGHT, then the performers who you came to see come on stage at like 1:45 a.m. on a Sunday frickin’ night, they do as much as they can and the lights come up and it’s time to go.


dj domination aka domo of the coughee brothaz...

With the repertoire that the Geto Boys have - and that boy DJ Domo skillfully rockin’ them motherfuckers off straight wax and a beat machine - why the hell couldn’t they have come out at like 12:30 and done a clean hour and a half? They have the material. Why the fuck did I have to stand around until practically 2 a.m. just to see the people I came to see? Huh? I really don’t get it. Then to make matters worse, they get cut off? Lights, on, everybody out. It’s like the performance is secondary or some shit, but we’re talking about the Geto Boys here, and they may never perform together again. Or will they? Only time will tell.


dj chill, money mark and dj wiz