The album was originally scheduled for release in August 1990, but Geffen Records, then distributor for Def American Recordings, refused to release it due to its graphic lyrical content, and pulled it from its schedule. After Geffen terminated its deal with Def American, the album was instead distributed by Warner Bros. Records in September 1990.
Controversy and release
Due to the graphic nature of the album's lyrics, particularly in the songs "Mind of a Lunatic" and "Assassins", Def American's distributor Geffen Records, as well as its manufacturer Sony DADC, refused to have any part in the release. After Geffen removed the album from its August release schedule[2][3] and terminated its manufacturing and distributing deal with Def American,[4]Rick Rubin arranged a new deal with Warner Bros. Records, who agreed to distribute the album as intended, as well as all subsequent Def American releases, with product manufacturing by WEA Manufacturing. The album was then released on September 21, 1990,[1] with marketing handled by Warner Bros. sister label Giant Records.[citation needed]
The song "Do It Like a G.O." was released as a single with a music video, but did not chart.
Packaging
The original Def American pressing features the following warning in addition to the standard Parental Advisory sticker:
Def American Recordings is opposed to censorship. Our manufacturer and distributor, however, do not condone or endorse the content of this recording, which they find violent, sexist, racist, and indecent.[5]
Subsequent pressings on Rap-a-Lot and various distributors do not contain the secondary warning.
In a 3.5-mike-out-of-5 review, The Source wrote positively of Rick Rubin's contribution to the album, writing, "The group's fuck-everybody attitude and simple straight-forward music is a perfect match for Rubin...."[10] Andy Kellman of AllMusic also praised Rubin's contribution, writing, "The album is expertly sequenced, and some songs seem to have twice the impact of their original incarnations."[6]
Robert Christgau, on the other hand, criticized the album, comparing it negatively to slasher films. Christgau ended the review, writing, "I'm impressed by [its] pungent beats and vernacular. I'm glad they put Reagan in bed with Noriega. I'm sorta touched when one of them thinks to thank the first girl to lick his asshole. I admire their enunciation on 'Fuck 'Em.' But fuck 'em."[7] In another mixed review, Entertainment Weekly's Greg Sandow ridiculed the album's glorification of violence, writing, "The catalog starts to seem silly. Stealing from the poor? On their next album, the Geto Boys might just as well do a song about tearing wings off flies."[8]
1 2 Harrington, Richard (September 19, 1990). "'Geto Boys' Gets a Lift". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
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