Rapper Bushwick Bill, a member of the controversial, legendary Southern rap group The Geto Boys, is set to release his sixth solo album, with an unexpected twist.
Testimony of Redemption, which Bushwick hopes to release later this year, will be his first foray into Gospel Rap.
The new album is mostly autobiographical and confessional in nature, with Bushwick apologizing for his past misogynistic lyrics on “Praise of a Good Woman” and owning up to his wild past on “Renewed Mind,” which borrows the same Isaac Hayes sample as the Geto Boys’ classic “Mind Playing Tricks On Me.”
Testimony of Redemption also finds Bushwick Bill blending his own testament of faith with pop culture topics to keep the listener tuned in.
Bushwick even takes aim at the state of Hip-Hop on two separate tracks.
On “Pull The Trigger on the Demon,” he spits “You’re killing the South/rap about something realer than the grill in your mouth,” while “God’s Side Is The Best Side,” features Bill speaking on the unifying power of Christ over all clicks, coasts, and gangs.
While infusing the lyrics of his new opus with Biblical references and praise, Bushwick, born Richard Shaw, makes it clear that his aim is not to convert, but simply to share his own new found vision.
This new direction is not quite as surprising as many would believe.
Bushwick Bill’s career in Hip-Hop, which has spanned over two decades, has been overshadowed by his often troubled personal life.
Aside from his contributions as one third of the Geto Boys, with Scarface and Willie D rounding out the fold, Bill is probably best recognized for the May 1991 mysterious incident which left him missing an eye.
The wound was the result of a gunshot wound suffered by his own hand, or that of his girlfriend, who he persuaded to pull the trigger.
But prior to entering the world of entertainment, the Jamaican-born artist was a student of Theology, fully intent on becoming a minister.
Bushwick Bill has recorded over twenty songs for Testimony of Redemption and is currently seeking a distribution deal for the daring album.