Thank God For Jesus Who Can Save Anybody.

”To say that Bushwick Bill was in my “least likely to have a miraculous conversion” category is a vast understatement. In the 90’s he was part of the Geto Boys, a Houston group known for some of the most hardened and offensive lyrics of its era. Yet, Bushwick Bill has in fact come to acknowledge his Higher Power and Savior and is now known as a Christian rapper, with a new album on the way later this year [2007]. To anyone familiar with his past, this is no small story. Though lacking in statue, Bill has always been known for being high on heart. His mixture of old-school rhyme and story-telling.

Bushwick Bill, a former member of the hard -core gansta rap group The Geto Boys, is one of the most recognized and respected artists in rap music and has lived a life of radical testimony.

Right out of the gate and in growing up, the deck seemed to be stacked against Bushwick Bill, aka Dr. Wolfgang Von Bushwickin the Barbarian Mother Funky Stay High Dollar Billstir. In 1966, he was born Richard Shaw in Kingston, Jamaica with dwarfism. As a child, his family moved to Brooklyn, N.Y. and he later became a high school dropout. As a young man, being bored and anxious for a change of scenery, he moved to Houston, Texas in 1987 and ended up finding his niche in entertainment as well as the worldly lifestyle to match.

Beginning his professional career as a rapper in 1988 when joining up with the two other Geto Boys and making quite a success together as a group, Bushwick Bill dived head-first into a debased lifestyle while rapping about the worst in humanity. His talent in the industry was evident, between The Geto Boys and as a solo artist, he has written and performed music on three gold and platinum albums, all of which have gone to the top spot on various charts and sold close to three million copies – in addition to acting occasionally – but all the while, he was filling his life up with everything demoralizing to replace the void of Jesus. He knew Christ when he was younger, but once with the Geto Boys, he became so out of control in the industry and fame, that it took an extreme series of events, including a drunken suicide attempt to eventually give him the wake up call he needed.

Finally, 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, this time 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.