The Golden Era – Rap, Reviews, Videos – english

Bushwick Bill – Little Big Man

Year: 1992

Back in the 90s, on my journeys through the record stores, I wasn’t only searching for vinyl and CDs, I was looking for info, too. Not the easiest of tasks, with rap music being generally overlooked, and the internet as we know it today wasn’t invented yet. So, it was all about the printed word back then. World of Music (WOM, a now closed music chainstore here in Berlin) had a magazine shelf with all the goodies, Rap Pages, The Source, etc. Prices were ridiculous, so I had to skip through the pages right there in the store, like an information-thief if you will.

From one of those instances I remember reading that Bushwick Bill’s solo debut only got 2.5 of the legendary 5 mics. Well,  I didn’t expect it to get a high rating, but what bothered me were the harsh words of the reviewer. Feces, that’s what he basically called the album. I was a little dissapointed to read that, because for me, it lived up to all the expectations I had when I found out he’s gonna release a solo. I think that was when I saw Ever So Clear on MTV, and it blew my mind. I didn’t rest until I had the album in my hands after that. And from that day, each mixtape that I listened to in my walkman contained at least 3 Bushwick-songs.

The title track, Little Big Man, was the perfect introduction to an hour of heavy funk-riffs and bloody carnage. Sometimes represented by his alter ego Chuckie (the murderous puppet from Child’s Play), Bill kicked his no-holds-barred, evil lyrics on tracks like Call Me Crazy, Skitso and Chuckwick (a reprise to the Chuckie-track contained on the Geto Boys “We Can’t Be Stopped”-album). Listening to the record right now, I still have to say that the beats James Smith and John Bido provided just fit him perfectly. The tracks just got that 90s, 5th Ward Texas vibe going on, really funky beats with disturbing lyrical content.

There was one thing the man from The Source and I agreed upon, though. The standout track on this album is Ever So Clear, the deep, self-reflecting story of how Bushwick Bill lost his eye. Most of the other tracks were too misogynistic and violent for the magazine, with the whole psychopathic killer image that the reviewer thought was dated.

For me, this remains the best solo effort from a Geto Boy since Mr. Scarface Is Back. I listened to that album many times, I still do, and I still think it’s great. I is not a 60 minute murder spree, sometimes Bill even brings positive vibes to the table (like on Letter To The KKK, also acknowledged by The Source).

In the same issue (October 1992), Willie D’s “Goin’ Out Lika Soldier” only got 2.5 mics as well. To each his own, I guess. Me, I put the magazine back on the shelf, went home, and probably listened to some Geto Boys.