Geto Boys - Lyrics and Influence

Lyrics and Influence

The group's name, Geto Boys, comes from a deliberate misspelling of the word "ghetto". For its first two albums, Making Trouble (1988) and Grip It! On That Other Level (1989), the spelling was the English standard "Ghetto Boys". For their third album, The Geto Boys, they changed it to the "Geto" spelling, which the group has used since. The Geto Boys' lyrics push gangsta rap themes to extremes, and sometimes focus on rape, necrophilia, murder, explicit sex, cartoonish violence, and hostility toward women. The group is credited for putting the South on the hip hop music map and inspired a legion of acts, including 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, UGK, T.I., Goodie Mobb, OutKast, 50 Cent, Chamillionaire, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Juvenile, Mystikal, Esham and Insane Clown Posse. Insane Clown Posse's Violent J (Joseph Bruce) described the Geto Boys as the first rappers to perform horrorcore, with their song "Assassins", released on their debut album, Making Trouble. Bruce says that the Geto Boys continued to pioneer the style with their second release Grip It! On That Other Level, with songs such as "Mind of a Lunatic" and "Trigga-Happy Nigga".

The Geto Boys' popularity was boosted somewhat in 1999 by the prominent use of two songs—"Damn it Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" (released as a promotional single for the 1992 compilation album Uncut Dope) and "Still" (from The Resurrection) in Mike Judge's film Office Space, now considered a cult classic. The song "Mind of a Lunatic" has been covered by many recording acts including Marilyn Manson in 2003, as a B-side off the album The Golden Age of Grotesque. The single "Damn it Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" has also been covered by the band Aqueduct and country singer Carter Falco.