The cover of
the Geto Boys'
We Can't Be Stopped shows a member with his eye poked out. It's grotesque, but realistic -- a realistic cover for an album whose violent, profane lyrics paint a vivid and accurate picture of life as
the Geto Boys knew it growing up in Houston's tough ghetto known as the 5th Ward. This CD isn't as thought-provoking as
Ice-T's,
N.W.A's, or
Ice Cube's can be -- nor is it
the Geto Boys' best offering. But it's an engaging, disturbing effort that comes across as much more heartfelt than the numerous gangsta rap albums by the
N.W.A and
Cube clones and wannabes who jumped on the gangsta bandwagon in the early '90s.
We Can't Be Stopped serves as an unsettling reminder of the type of ugly social conditions that were allowed to fester in poor inner-city neighborhoods. [A "screwed" mix of the album appeared in 2004.] ~ Alex Henderson