Ok. If we are going to be friends, then you must be able to recite the murder rap masterpiece Mind of a Lunatic by the Geto Boys verbatim and at the drop of a gangster hat. So download it here now. Memorize. Repeat till fade. From the opening, which samples a Batman book and record set I had as a kid, to the thrilling cinematic conclusion (drawn by Hideshi Hino) it may be the greatest thing done to the English language since…Viv Stanshall at the very least. Oh, and it’s funky as hell too. My only regret: we’re two weeks late to properly celebrate the day “a damn fool was born with the mind of a lunatic,” but maybe Slasher can be still convinced to spin it when he DJs at the Acid Panda Café this weekend…
I have to lay hands on a copy of the March 19, 1990 issue of NEWSWEEK, whose cover story was "Rap Rage." The hate-filled visage of Tone Loc was chosen for the front. On the inside, however--as I recall--the Geto Boys got their photo across an entire page, with some lyrics quoted below about the gift of a rose.
In Vol. 5 of the NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, Asuka at one point says "Insane...insane..." Now you know.
Posted by: Carl Horn | November 15, 2005 at 10:28 AM
Wow! I think there is something wrong with me to be a 'white guy' who finds the sound of old school ganster rap as familiar and comforting with a hint of a childhood.
Posted by: Cliff Cheney | November 15, 2005 at 02:14 PM
DJ Action. Ganster of Love, not the Sweet Home Alabama remix. Bushwick with two good eyes. Life before Big Mike. Oh the good ol' dayz when rappers would shoot people or get shot after they were famous and then put it on wax as evidence.
Posted by: OrangeCaliforniaCooler | November 16, 2005 at 08:47 PM
It's a sign of Bushwick's professionalism that he he did not neglect to take a picture in that cheap-ass hospital, even while holding a cell phone bigger than he is. Willie D., wearing that extraordinary jacket, looks into the camera as if to say, "Jealous motherfucker even sounds sarcastic" while Scarface keeps it fairly cool. I actually worked at the Texas Medical Center at the time, but it's a big place.
ROLLING STONE voted it "Worst Album Cover Of The Year," by which of course they meant "Greatest Album Cover Of The Decade."
Posted by: Carl Horn | November 17, 2005 at 12:27 AM