Willie Denni Willie D. dier," is because to me soldier
grewupinHouston,Tex ,inthe ymbolizes strength, per-
part of town own the Fifth verance, and a trong will to
W rd, hardcore ghetto re. urvive. Mo t importantly it rep-
Willie describ his home turf by resents the Black struggle. It
ying, "It's everything you ee define the Black men and women
on TV or ny action movie or . who conquer the odds (i.e. dis­
horror flick. That's Fifth Ward" crimination, insuf icient income,
In 1989, Willie joined th in- unemploym nt, legal injustices,
famous Houston rap group, the etc. .. ) that ourr ce is faced with on
Geto Boy. The group dealt with a daily basis. It also exemplifies
more than a few controversies, the young Black soldiers who
just one of which w Geffen main in a level of excellence in
Records refusal to distribute and academics; but still have a sense
manuf cture their album. of identity," Willie D explains.
The Geto Boy , Rap-A-Lot "That identity is knowing
Records album "We Can't Be Black is still beautiful and ac­
Stopped" went platinum, and their knowledging the concept behind
single "Mind Playing Tricks On our ancestors struggles. A con­
Me" went gold. Says Willie, who cept that advocates standing up
left the group to work with Bush- for what you believe in, as op­
wick and Scarface, "We were al- posed to turning the other cheek.
ways dealing with controversy, We have to get rid of our passive
and sometimes all we had was ways and fight for our equal rights
each other for support, because no in America - the country that
one else would." Blacks built and in which our an-
This year rumors began surfac- cestors are the founding fathers ... "
ing that he nd Bushwick were says wuue D.
e . ng. owe r, t i t1
uch talk, "We get long fine. K". Say Willie, "I'm urprised
We're cool nd eve ythi g. yet no one has spearheaded a
Maybe we're not the best of campaign against Willie D. I'm
friends, but atthe same time we're surprised and grateful, too.
cool." That's what's holding us back,
certain Black leaders who are j ust
LOOKING BACK AT his. there to shut us up and keep us in
line." .
own roots, Willie say's, "I came
from nothin' to something. I was
in trouble with the law, deprived
in poverty. 'Now I try to give back
to kids. Anywhere I go I can help
other kids in the same situation I
was, or headed towards it, by
trying to teach them some of the
things I've learned."
Willie's first single from his
upcoming work "I'm Goin' Out
Lika Soldier" is titled "Clean Up
Man" which promises to be a
radio hit.
"The reason I named this
album "I'm Goin' Out Lika Sol-
WILLIE SAYS HE feels that
the media will try to enlist Black
leaders to attack him. He notes,
"They do it for a reason. To keep
people who speak out in check.
They can camouflage their
prejudice and racism that way,
and legitimize it, by saying, 'See,
this Black man is bashing him
too.' They even did that with
Malcolm and Martin. The
government was trying to get
them to denounce each other
before Malcolm was killed. "
Willie adds, "I just really hope
that people can listen to the ong,
not so much as for entertainment,
but listen to it and really take a
look at what I'm saying, and take
a look at yourself, and stop think­
ing that everything's just rosy,
which is what they're trying to
make us think. The government
always finds new ways to censor
us."
Willie says that the single
about Rodney King is an expres­
sion of anger against a state of
mind of complacency, and not a
personal attack on Rodney King,
but on all Black leaders who are
not leading. "If you have a person
put in a position to do a job of
being a leader, whether Rodney
King is Black or White it doesn't
make a difference if he's just
helping to contain the struggle.
I'm tired of so called leaders who
just beat around the bush. and
won't take a side."
he
ays," e have to, me this
idea that we are upposed to be
poor, or that we're supposed to be
beaten by the police and that it is
God's will. That is fake. God
gave us common sense to use our
minds to excel. God did not bring
us here to be in the condition
we're in.
Every person was sent into this
world for a purpose, and it wasn't
to be mistreated or to be dis­
criminated against. A conce.pt .
that advocates standing up for
what you believe in, as opposed to
turning the other cheek. We have
to get rid of our passive ways and
fight for our equal rights in
America, the country that Blacks
buil t. And we accomplish this
feat as in the immortal words of
the late great Malcolm X, By any
means necessary. "
Bushwick Bill was born in is titled "Ever So Clear." The answers. Bushwick says he
Jamaica, in the Trenchtown sec- song graphically recounts the recorded the song for a reason:
tion of Kingston. As a youngster, 'night when Bushwick's eye was "Learn from my mistakes, and
he moved to Brooklyn, N.Y. In shout out. Any questions? Listen
1987, he moved to Houston, to the song, and you'll find your, See BUSHWICK, B11
Texas, where he later became a
member of the Rap-A-Lot
Records rap group the Geto Boys.
Of the Geto Boys, who
achieved platinum tatus for their
album "We Can't Be Stopped"
and gold for their single "Mind
Playing Tricks on Me ", Bushwick
says, "From the 'Makin Trouble'
album to the upcoming (Geto
Boys) album, "I'm the only
original face you'll recognize."
Bushwick plans on remaining
in the group, but like his bandmate
Scarface, he wants to express
himself on a soto album as well.
Bushwick explains, "The Oeto
Boy is with an's' on it, meaning
there's more than one. My solo
album separates me from the
group because it' all about Bush­
wick. It's letting you know all the
different things that I could say
outside of the Geto Boys. It lets
the fans know that I'm versatile.
The solo album shows I 'm not just
restricted to one mindframe. It's
like a prism and there' many dif­
ferent angles you can see it from."
The first single from his up­
coming album, "Little Big Man, "
