Bushwick Bill

Bushwick Bill
Bushwick Bill performing in 2005
Background information
Birth name Richard Stephen Shaw
Also known as
  • Bushwick Bill
  • Little Billy
Born (1966-12-08) December 8, 1966
Jamaica
Genres Hip hop, Southern hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1988-present
Labels Rap-a-Lot
Associated acts
Height 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m)
Children 4
Parents
  • Rollin Shaw (father)
  • Deloris Shaw (d. 2015) (mother)

Richard Stephen Shaw (born December 8, 1966) is a Jamaican-American rapper better known by his stage name Bushwick Bill.[1][2] He is best known as a member of the pioneering Texas hip hop group Geto Boys, a group he originally joined as a dancer in 1986 as Little Billy. He went on to become one third of the best-known incarnation of the group, alongside Willie D and Scarface.

Career

Bushwick Bill can be heard on the album The Chronic by Dr. Dre; he appears in the video of "Dre Day" as one of Eazy-E's fellow rappers. His 1998 album No Surrender…No Retreat was dedicated to his friend Gil Epstein, a Fort Bend County prosecutor who was shot dead in Houston, Texas, in 1996.[3]

In June 2013, Bushwick toured with the Geto Boys and was finishing an album, which was projected to be released later that year.[4]

Personal life

In the summer of 1991, Bushwick Bill shot himself in the eye during an argument with his girlfriend, losing an eye; he refers to this incident and his intoxication on Everclear grain alcohol in his rap "Ever So Clear". He was also high on PCP.[5] The aftermath of this incident is depicted on the album cover of We Can't Be Stopped, which shows Bill being pushed through the hospital on a gurney the night he was shot. He pulls down the medical patch from his eye to show the wound.[6]

In 2006, Bushwick Bill became a born-again Christian.[7]

In May 2010, Bushwick Bill was arrested in Georgia for possession of marijuana and cocaine. Based on his prior arrest record, he was facing deportation.[7] His mother Deloris Shaw died April 16, 2015. His father Rollin Shaw is still alive living in Houston. He has two sons, one of whom is adopted, and two daughters.

Bushwick Bill has dwarfism; he is listed as 3 feet 8 inches tall.[8]

Discography

Album information
Little Big Man
  • Released: September 8, 1992
  • Billboard 200 chart position: No. 15
  • R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: No. 32
  • Singles: "Ever So Clear"/"Call Me Crazy" (No. 49 R&B)
Phantom of the Rapra
  • Released: July 11, 1995
  • Billboard 200 chart position: No. 43
  • R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: No. 3
  • Singles: "Who's the Biggest"/"Only God Knows" (No. 113 Pop, No. 88 R&B)
No Surrender…No Retreat
  • Released: October 27, 1998
  • Billboard 200 chart position: -
  • R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: No. 43
  • Singles:
Universal Small Souljah
  • Released: March 13, 2001
  • Billboard 200 chart position: -
  • R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: -
  • Singles: "Unforgiven"
Gutta Mixx
  • Released: March 29, 2005
  • Billboard 200 chart position: -
  • R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: -
  • Singles: "20Minutesormore"
My Testimony of Redemption
  • Released: March 25, 2010
  • Billboard 200 chart position: -
  • R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #66

References

  1. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (2002). "Geto Boys". The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate. p. 599. ISBN 1-84195-615-5.
  2. ↑ Hip Online (January 6, 2008). "Bushwick Bill". Hip Online. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Bushwick Bill Dedicates Album To Slain Prosecutor—Music, Celebrity, Artist News". Mtv.com. November 19, 1998. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Chaos in Tejas Live (Finale): Bushwick Bill". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Wyman, Bill. "An Eye for a Truth: Bushwick Bill in extremis/Turn Down That Damn Music!". Chicagoreader.com. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  6. ↑ "A History of Rappers Getting Shot and Surviving". Complex.com. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  7. 1 2 Radford, Chad (August 30, 2010). "Bushwick Bill teeters on the brink of deportation | Music Feature | Creative Loafing Atlanta". Clatl.com. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Bill Bushwick Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
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