From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced or poorly sourced material about living persons must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. This article has been tagged since June 2007.

Bushwick Bill
Bushwick Bill
Background information
Birth name	Richard Shaw
Also known as	Dr. Wolfgang Von Bushwickin the Barbarian Mother Funky Stay High Dollar Billstir
Born	December 8, 1966 (1966-12-08) (age 41) Kingston, Jamaica
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapping
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1988–present
Label(s)	Noo Trybe Wrap Records Nu Wave Adex Lightyear
Website	[1]

Richard Shaw (born December 8, 1966 in Jamaica), officially named Dr. Wolfgang Von Bushwickin the Barbarian Mother Funky Stay High Dollar Billstir, but better known as Bushwick Bill, is a member of the rap group Geto Boys. In 1991 he shot himself while drunk after his girlfriend refused to shoot him. A graphic picture of him in the hospital with his injury was on the cover of the Geto Boys' album We Can't Be Stopped. Bushwick Bill detailed the incident in the song Ever So Clear, as well as perfected his psychotic "Chuckwick" persona, (portraying himself as Chucky from the Child's Play movie) on his first solo album Little Big Man (1992). He is one of the few people with dwarfism to become known in the hip hop industry.

Shortly before the release of his second album Phantom of the Rapra (1995), Richard Shaw again changed his name. He summarizes his name change in an interview:^{[citation needed]}

His first solo album was Little Big Man (1992).

His second album was Phantom of the Rapra (1995) which spawned the single "Who's The Biggest".

Bushwick Bill later released No Surrender...No Retreat in 1998 and Universal Small Soldier in 2001. No Surrender...No Retreat was dedicated to Gil Epstein, a Fort Bend County assistant district attorney who was murdered in 1996 outside the Jewish Community Center off South Braeswood in Houston, Texas. (The two men involved in Epstein's murder received the death penalty.) The two became friends after Epstein was assigned to Bushwick's possession of marijuana case and Epstein convinced Bushwick that he was wasting his talents abusing drugs and alcohol.

In late 2004 the Geto Boys reformed for a new album called "The Foundation" and shortly afterwards Bushwick Bill announced the birth of two new media companies and released a Remix solo album called Gutta Mix.

In 2006, Bushwick Bill rededicated his life to Jesus Christ and planned the release an album entitled "Testimony of Redemption" in 2007. Although Bushwick gave thanks to Jesus Christ within the inserts of previous Geto Boys albums, it provided a stark contrast between the lyrical content of the albums and professed personal views of the artist. While some viewed these self-expressions as polar opposites and potentially hypocrytical, others found it to be a transparent testimony of a man struggling with his faith and the harsh realities of life.

In the 2007 release, Bushwick Bill provides a summary of his life and struggles; combined with the influences of his faith is a classic good vs. evil struggle. In the song "Testimony of Redemption", Bushwick professed to be an ordained minister by age 18, and falling into a life of fame, money, drugs, and the street life soon after. The lyrics of this song combined with the lyrics of "Going to the River" provide a revealing summary of Bushwick's life to date.

Bushwick bill has appeared in a 1993 episode of Martin, a 1999 episode of Law & Order, and an episode of Ego Trip's The White Rapper Show in 2007.

Album cover	Album information
	Little Big Man Released: September 8, 1992 Billboard 200 chart position: #32 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #15 Singles: "Ever So Clear"/"Call Me Crazy"
	Phantom of the Rapra Released: July 11, 1995 Billboard 200 chart position: #43 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #3 Singles: "Who's The Biggest"/"Only God Knows"
	No Surrender...No Retreat Released: October 27, 1998 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #84 Singles:
	Universal Small Souljah Released: March 13, 2001 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: "Unforgiven"
	Gutta Mixx Released: March 29, 2005 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: 20Minutesormore
	Testimony of Redemption Released: 2007 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: k/A

• List of Rappers from Houston, Texas

• Bushwick Bill's Myspace Page