They were never really dead, not even in a metaphoric sense, so this is only a Resurrection in that the Geto Boys are back to what they once were; Scarface, Bushwick Bill and Willie D; the latter of which “left the group in 91”. There’s a verse here that insists the split was the result of real-life beef, but “we settled our differences”, so he’s back and still yelling, though not as loud as he used to. Big Mike, who replaced him for the last album, is missing in action.

With things back in place, you’d expect, or at least hope for, a fitting follow-up to We Can’t Be Stopped; their best album; but, though it’s only been five years, times have changed. The beats are more airy and vivacious; less hip-hop, more sinister mob music. It seems the Boys have also matured into grown men, so it’s mostly serious business with social and political commentary between murders; less time for funny disses, careless sex and Chuckie dolls.

That makes for a less interesting album; a dark undertaking with a conceptual fixation with death. At one point Bushwick Bill even kills himself after declaring to passenger Willie D that he Just Wanna Die. D dares him to shoot himself in the head while driving, which he does. You can hear the tires screech as the ride swerves off the road and crashes into something hard. The decision for him not to be heard again for the rest of the album was a clever one.

That bit is followed by a Willie D solo song comparing Niggas And Flies, but, while he’s Still the most entertaining (funniest) member of the group, we’ve heard better from both rappers. The best songs are actually Blind Leading The Blind, led by the Menace Clan, and Point Of No Return. The album would also do better without an on-going prison phone call from an annoyingly race-obsessed Larry Hoover to Rap-A-Lot founder and CEO J Prince.

my rating : 3 of 5

1996