Thursday, March 15   10:45 p.m.
401 Guadalupe
former Fox and Hound   (401 Guadalupe St)

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WILLIE D

As a member of the pioneering rap group The Geto Boys, Willie D is certainly no stranger to success. His aggressive, brash, in-your-face style made him stand out among a sea of new jack rappers seeking their place in the hip hop spotlight. Willie D is the type of MC that you can always count on to says what�s on his mind and let the chips fall where they may. It makes no difference whether his subject mater is political, moral or simply another one of his exciting tales of the street, Willie D delivers the straight uncut truth without compromise. In this day of pop-oriented rap where MCs are quick to regurgitate the latest politically correct spiel, Willie D�s latest solo project entitled No Time 2 Die comes as a much needed breath of fresh air.

Born and raised in Houston Texas� notorious 5th Ward, a place where poverty runs rampant and often claims the lives of so many young people of color, Willie Dennis sought to avoid the many pitfalls and traps that hard living has for Black males. A gifted athlete, Willie took up boxing at the age of 11. Willie D was so good at boxing that in 1985, he became the Golden Glove Champion for the State of Texas. With a Golden Glove championship under his 17-year-old belt it looked like Willie D was well on his way to becoming a professional boxer, but fortunately for hip hop fans fate intervened. Like any teenager growing up in the early 80s Willie D was captivated by the music of his generation. A fan of hip hop he listened intensely to the music of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Kool Moe Dee, RunDMC, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, NWA and Ice T, all whom he cites as major influences. �I picked up a little something from everybody,� says Willie D, the former host of Reality Check, a number one rated talk show in Houston. Soon Willie D was earning a reputation around town as a fierce MC. Eventually Willie�s reputation reached James �Lil J� Prince, who, at the time, was looking to revamp the Geto Boys and knew that Willie D would be a key factor in the group�s success. �Initially I was signed as a solo artist. Lil� Jay asked me to write some songs for the Geto Boys. I wrote Do It like a G.O. and Let A Hoe Be A Hoe. They (the group members) didn�t like it, but Lil J was loving it. So he told them y�all either do this or go solo. They decided to go solo and J decided to revamp the group, that�s how I became a Geto Boy.�

Considered the classic GB line up, Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D first emerged as the Geto Boys back in 1989 with their monumental record Grip It on That Other Level. The record contained classic songs Gangsta of Love, Do It Like a GO and Read These Nikes, all penned by Willie D. Filled with raw and gritty beats and pure ghetto angst, Grip It on That Other Level became an instant classic with rap fans and earned them a deal with the legendary hip hop producer/entrepreneur Rick Rubin, who inked a split label deal with Rap-A-Lot to re-release a reworked version of the LP on his Def American label. But as soon as word about the kind of lyrics that was on the album reached the powers that be the Geto Boys found themselves in the eye of a political storm. PMRC founder Tipper Gore and Sen. Bob Dole placed pressure on Time/Warner to drop the album altogether. Fortunately the Geto Boys prevailed and their national debut The Geto Boys was unleashed on the public. The record went gold with no airplay in spite of the mainstream media blackout. Willie went on to record a string of critical and commercially successful albums like We Can�t Be Stopped (Platinum), which feature the classic �My Mind Playing Tricks On Me,� a greatest hits collection called Geto Dope (Gold), Resurrection (Gold) The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly (Gold) and The Foundation. Equally impressive is Willie D�s catalog as a solo artist. To date he has done over five solo projects, which includes the cult classic Controversy, the brilliant Going Out Like a Soldier, the ultra hype Play With Ya Mama, the controversial Loved by Few, Hated By Many and Relentless, which was released on his own independent label, Relentless Music. In 1999, Willie D made a brief return to his first love, Boxing and scored a first round knockout in his professional debut against Charles Aguillar of Mexico. In February 2006, he was named Director of Sports and Entertainment for Dream Flights Luxury Travel, an intermediate charter jet company that utilizes a network of over 5,500 private aircrafts and provides first class concierge service for its prestigious clients.

Now with his latest solo effort No Time 2 Die Willie D raises the bar on his own high standards and delivers his rawest, most controversial record. In fact, this may be his best album to date period. �The primary difference between this project and previous solo projects is my approach to writing,� says Willie. �On past solo projects I was always too analytical of what I was saying. This time I was completely unforgiving, the way I have always been on Geto Boys albums. This album is really a testimony to my collective emotional state.�
Produced by, Kano, The Machine, Seeme, Jo Traxx , Willie D and others, No Time 2 Die contains a bevy of hot beats and blazing lyrics that will entertain as well as enlighten you. For a taste of the light-hearted entertaining side of Willie D, look no further than the album�s lead single �More Power.� a bawdy song about the power of a woman, which features Willie D�s prot�g�s Huntzville.
On the controversial track �Uncle Sam� Willie D is joined by Huntzville to kick rhymes exploring the Iraqi War from three different vantage points: pro, con and indifferent. By offering three sides of the ongoing debate Willie D and Huntzville offer a fair and balanced viewpoint of a very touchy subject. On �H-Town,� Willie D does what he does best putting chumps in their place. This time he takes aim at anybody who is down on the South. He�s letting them know that the South is where their origin begins. �Since you don�t know ya roots, let me hip to something, I�m from the place where ya granny and ya Grand-pappy met, �� show some respect.� Even more explosive is the hater killer �Fueling My Fire� ...It�s Willie D Sammy I play with ya mammy, the most quoted rapper of all time without a Grammy...�

With No Time 2 Die, Willie D proves once again that he is still the realest rapper in the game. His steadfast refusal to compromise his standards makes him one of the most important MCs of our time.