Making Trouble

Though the controversial subject matter of gangsta rap wasn't much of a barrier to popular success during the '90s, the Geto Boys' recordings proved almost too extreme for widespread exposure. Blocked from distributing their 1990 major-label debut by Geffen — who insisted that a track dealing with necrophilia as well as murder was a step too far — the group was saved by producer Rick Rubin, who arranged another distributor for the album, released on his own Def American label. The controversy,...