| We Can't Be Stopped | |
|---|---|
 Studio album by Geto Boys | |
|
Released |
July 9, 1991 |
|
Recorded |
August 1990 - April 1991 |
|
Studio |
Jungle Style Studios |
|
Genre |
Southern hip hop, Hardcore hip hop, Golden age hip hop, Gangsta rap, Conscious hip hop |
|
Length |
51:45 |
|
Label |
|
|
Producer |
Cliff Blodget (exec.), Bushwick Bill, John Bido, Prince Johnny C, Roland, Scarface (also exec.), Simon, James Smith (also exec.), Willie D |
| Geto Boys chronology | |
|---|---|
|
Previous |
The Geto Boys (1990) |
|
Next |
Uncut Dope (1992) |
We Can't Be Stopped is the third studio album by American Hip hop group Geto Boys. It was released on July 9, 1991 via Rap-A-Lot Records. Recording sessions took place at Jungle Style Studios and Digital Services in Houston, Texas from August 1990 to April 1991. Production was handled by John Bido, Crazy C, Prince Johnny C and Geto Boys themselves. The album is the first to feature the most well-known Geto Boys lineup, as fourth member DJ Ready Red left the group during the recording of this album. Each member of the group has three solo songs, and three songs feature all three members performing together. DJ Ready Red's only vocal contribution is in the form of a short verse on the title track.
The cover is a graphic picture of member Bushwick Bill in hospital after he shot himself in the eye during an argument with his girlfriend. The other two Geto Boys members and the group's management team took Bill out of his hospital room in order to take the picture. Although it is one of hip hop's most notorious covers, Bill has since expressed regret over use of the photograph.
The album peaked at #24 on the Billboard 200 and #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. We Can't Be Stopped releases the singles: "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" and "I Ain't With Being Broke". The album was their most successful records in terms of units sold.
Recording and content[]
We Can't Be Stopped was recorded within a few weeks. During the recording of the album, DJ Ready Red left the group for personal reasons.
The title track is a criticism of the Geto Boys' former intended distributor, Geffen Records, after the label refused to distribute the group's previous album, The Geto Boys, because of its violent lyrics. "Chuckie" is a Bushwick Bill solo written by fellow Rap-A-Lot artist Ganksta N-I-P after the two watched the movie Child's Play together. The hit single "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" was originally intended to be a Scarface solo with three verses, but later became a group song with Bushwick Bill rapping Scarface's final verse. "I'm Not a Gentleman" was a response to Queen Latifah's song "Ladies First". The Bushwick Bill solo song, "Fuck a War", is a criticism of then president George Bush, an anti-war song inspired by a close relative of Bill's serving in the Persian Gulf War. The album closer, "Trophy", is a Willie D solo song where he vents his frustration over the lack of attention the Geto Boys were receiving from music awards.
Album cover[]
The album cover is a graphic picture of member Bushwick Bill in a Houston hospital after he was shot during an altercation with his girlfriend in May 1991. Bill was suicidal and wanted his girlfriend to kill him with the gun, but he was instead shot in the eye when she refused and a struggle between the two ensued. Bill has expressed regret over the album cover, saying "It still hurts me to look at that cover because that was a personal thing I went through... I still feel the pain from the fact I've got a bullet in my brain... I think it was pretty wrong to do it, even though I went along with the program at first." Bill recounted the shooting in his song "Ever So Clear" from his 1992 solo album Little Big Man.
Reception[]
Alex Henderson of Allmusic states that the album is "an engaging, disturbing effort that comes across as much more heartfelt than the numerous gangsta rap albums by the N.W.A and Cube clones and wannabes that jumped on the gangsta bandwagon in the early '90s", and believes that its cover is suitable "for an album whose violent, profane lyrics paint a vivid and accurate picture of life as the Geto Boys knew it growing up in Houston's tough ghetto known as the 5th Ward".[1] Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews said that the album "proves not only to be a timeless album but perhaps the greatest in the group's catalogue".[2]
It received a negative review from Rob Tannenbaum of Rolling Stone, saying that their lyrics sound to similar to that of N.W.A, Ice-T and 2 Live Crew. He goes on to say that "the Geto Boys confuse their neighbors with their enemies" with their hatred targeted at other black people.[3]
Track listing[]
Produced by James Smith, John Bido, Simon, Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick, Johnny C and Roland.
| No. | TItle | Performer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rebel Rap Family" | - | 1:22 |
| 2. | "We Can't Be Stopped" | Willie D, Bushwick Bill, Scarface, DJ Ready Red | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Homie Don't Play That" | Willie D | 3:48 |
| 4. | "Another N*!^a in the Morgue" | Scarface | 3:14 |
| 5. | "Chuckie" | Bushwick Bill | 3:48 |
| 6. | "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" | Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill | 5:11 |
| 7. | "I'm Not a Gentleman" | Willie D | 4:01 |
| 8. | "Gota Let Your Nuts Hang" | Scarface | 4:11 |
| 9. | "Fuck a War" | Bushwick Bill | 4:16 |
| 10. | "Ain't with Being Broke" | Willie D, Bushwick Bill, Scarface | 3:47 |
| 11. | "Quickie" | Scarface | 3:08 |
| 12. | "Punk-Bitch Game" | - | 2:16 |
| 13. | "The Other Level" | Bushwick Bill | 6:01 |
| 14. | "Trophy" | Willie D | 3:08 |
Credits[]
Management: James Smith, Tony Randle
Samples[]
Rebel Rap Family
- "Tony's Theme" by Giorgio Moroder
We Can't Be Stopped
- "Funky Drummer" by James Brown
- "Devotion (Live)" by Earth, Wind & Fire
- "I Gotcha" by Joe Tex
- "Give It to Me Baby" by Rick James
Homie Don't Play That
- "Funky Drummer" by James Brown
- "More Bounce to the Ounce" by Zapp
- "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton
- "So Ruff, So Tuff" by Roger
- "Pumpin' It Up (Special Club Mix)" by P-Funk All Stars
Another N!*@er In the Morgue
- "Can I Get Some Help" by James Brown
Chuckie
- "Chuckie's Death" from Child's Play
Mind Playing Tricks On Me
- "The Jam" by Graham Central Station
- "Hung Up on My Baby" by Isaac Hayes
I'm Not a Gentleman
- "You'll Like It Too" by Funkadelic
- "I Heard That!!" by Quincy Jones
- "Ladies First (The Crazy Extended 45 King Remix)" by Queen Latifah feat. Monie Love
Gotta Let Your Nuts Hang
- "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
- "Corey Died on the Battlefield" by The Wild Magnolias and The New Orleans Project
Fuck a War
- "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd
- "Devil With the Bust" by Sound Experience
Ain't With Being Broke
- "Damn Right I'm Somebody" by Fred Wesley and The J.B.'s
- "Gotta Get Hands on Some (Money)" by The Fatback Band
- "Just Like a Pimp" from Car Wash
Quickie
- "Oh Honey" by Delegation
- "French Kiss" by Lil' Louis
Punk-Bitch Game
- "Don't Call Me N*!@er, Whitey" by Sly & the Family Stone
The Other Level
- "Love Hangover" by Diana Ross
Trophy
- "Soul Makossa" by Manu Dibango
- "Catch a Groove" by Juice
- "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic" by Public Enemy
Album liner notes[]
Thanks: Gangster Nip, Convicts, Steve Fournier, Source Magazine, Vilot Brown