Songoftheday 11/20/18 - June 28 was the date 38, till the chest plate mommy dear's cryin' at the wake...
from the album Till Death Do Us Part (1993)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 1
Today's song of the day comes from the rap trio Geto Boys, who had taken their rough-edge street-level gangsta rap and had enough reaction to reach the mainstream, scoring a top-40 pop hit at the start of 1992 with their horrorcore throwdown "Mind Playing Tricks On Me". However despite the success, member Willie D parted ways to concentrate on a solo career, leaving the remaining pair of Bushwick Bill and Scarface to recruit Big Mike for their next album, Till Death Do Us Part. Released in 1993, the first single, "Crooked Officer", was a nod to their hardcore fans that crave their hard looks on the street, and while it only made it to #70 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart (and "bubbled under" the pop Hot 100 at #111), it set the tone of the album for their longstanding audience. But the follow-up single was definitely crafted to attempt to capitalize on the mainstream success of "Mind Playing Tricks". Using the Commodores' soft-rock classic "Easy" as a foundation, no matter what downplayed portrayal of the violence in gangsta culture there was (and would be used for heart-tugging singles again and again), you mind gets a little numb from the comforting familiarity of the sample. The music video, though, pulls no punches, killing someone right off the spot...
"Six Feet Deep" became the Geto Boys' second and so far last top-40 pop hit in June of 1993. The song climbed to #37 on Billboard's R&B chart as well as topping out at #2 on their Rap Singles chart. The Till Death Do You Part topped the mag's R&B Albums list (the act's first set to do this), and just missed the top ten on the main albums chart at #11.
After three years, Bushwick Bill and Scarface dropped Big Mike and reunited with Willie D for their next album The Resurrection. The record climbed to #6 on Billboard's album chart, their highest rank, but first single "The World Is A Ghetto", which sampled the 70s hit of the same name from War, only made it to #82 on the pop chart and #37 R&B. However, it was their first taste of international success, becoming a minor hit in the UK at #49. After this record, Bushwick Bill was the one to take leave, with Willie and Scarface coming together in 1998 for their album Da Good Da Bad & Da Ugly, which didn't chart any singles, but nonetheless made the top 40 on the albums chart (#26). A few years of the trio split up, and all three were back together in 2002, which led to their most recent album in 2005, The Foundation. The record went to #3 on the R&B albums sales chart, and #19 on the main list. Meanwhile, Scarface had maintained a fruitful career whether or not he was with the Geto Boys, with twelve records that made the top-40 on the albums chart, and one of them, The Untouchable going all the way to #1. He also had a pair of solo-billed top-40 singles, with "Smile" going to #12 in 1997.
Up tomorrow: Big-voiced dance singer is romantically insatiable.
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