Bushwick Bill, one of the founding members of Houston’s iconic group Geto Boys, has passed away.
The rapper was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer in February and had been going through intensive chemotherapy.
Bushwick Bill, whose real name is Richard Shaw, got his start in the late 1980s when he joined the Geto Boys as a dancer under the name “Little Billy.” The Geto Boys were made up of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D. The group originated in Houston back in 1988, before they signed with J. Prince’s Rap-A-Lot Records.
In 1991, the group released the album “We Can’t Be Stopped, ” which gained a lot of exposure with Bill on the cover in the hospital. The rapper was shot in the eye in a gunshot incident and used the graphic photo for the album cover.
The Houston rapper released six solo albums after his 1992 debut Little Big Man.
The Geto Boys wanted to do a reunion tour prior to the rapper’s death, but they reportedly put an end to it when the headline of the tour was released, “The Beginning of a Long Goodbye: The Final Farewell.” The rapper felt that the headline “made it seem like he was on his deathbed.”
Bushwick Bill was 52.
