Diary of a Madman: The Geto Boys, Life, Death, and the Roots of Southern Rap

We have a problem in this country with telling the truth about what’s really going on, especially when it comes to the history and the day-to-day realities faced by the black population. It’s always skewed or distorted or ignored. Sometimes I can’t tell which is worse. Would I rather they ignored the death of Michael Brown, or would I rather they s

jokes. {Courtesy Brad Jordan.}

We just had one rule: no biting. You never wanted to sound like anybody else. Being influenced by someone is one thing, but you could never copy. That shit was wack. If you were following someone else’s style, you always had to put your own twist on it. We were inspired by Run-D.M.C., but if Run-D.M.C. was clicking in and out and trading lines duri

what really made me want to take it seriously was hearing highly skilled MCs like Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, and Chuck D really pushing the form with their wordplay and rhyme patterns and bringing their unique voices and deliveries to the game. They were all so sick and so sharp—just straight killers on the mic. And I wanted to be like that

If you really want to go, the dying is the easy part. It’s the living that’s hard. That shit takes a lifetime. And it will test you every step of the way.