We Can't Be Stopped
{{short description|1991 studio album by Geto Boys}}
{{for|the No Limit Records compilation album|We Can't Be Stopped (No Limit Records album)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox album
| name = We Can't Be Stopped
| type = Album
| artist = Geto Boys
| cover = Geto_boys_we_can't_be_stopped_cover.jpg
| alt = the Geto Boys wheeling Bushwick Bill, with a severely wounded eye, through the hospital on a hospital bed
| released = {{Start date|1991|7|9}}
| recorded = 1990–1991
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|Southern hip-hop|gangsta rap|G-funk|horrorcore|hardcore hip-hop}}
| length = 51:45
| label = {{hlist|Rap-A-Lot|Priority}}
| producer = {{hlist|Bushwick Bill|James Smith|John Bido|Johnny C|Roland|Scarface|Simon|Willie D}}
| prev_title = The Geto Boys
| prev_year = 1990
| next_title = Uncut Dope
| next_year = 1992
| misc = {{Singles
| name = We Can't Be Stopped
| type = studio
| single1 = Mind Playing Tricks on Me
| single1date = July 1, 1991
}}
}}
We Can't Be Stopped is the third studio album by Geto Boys, released on July 9, 1991. It was among their most successful records in terms of units sold. The album is analysed track-by-track by Geto Boys in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.Coleman, Brian. Check The Technique: Liner Notes For Hip-Hop Junkies. New York: Villard/Random House, 2007. pp. 225-231. We Can't Be Stopped was certified Platinum in early 1992.Bush, John. [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/geto-boys-mn0000077283/biography "Geto Boys"]. AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2011
Recording
We Can't Be Stopped took only a few weeks to record. During the recording of the album, DJ Ready Red, one of the original Geto Boys members, left the group for personal reasons.
In We Can't Be Stopped, each member of the group has three solo tracks. Three tracks have all three members on the rapping roster, including a short verse from DJ Ready Red on the title track.
Album cover
The album cover is a graphic picture of member Bushwick Bill in the hospital. Bill was shot in the eye as he and his girlfriend tussled over a gun. Bushwick Bill wanted her to kill him and during the altercation he was shot as both hands were on the gun.[http://www.vibe.com/content/full-clip-scarface-pg-2 Full Clip: Scarface Breaks Down Geto Boys & Solo Catalogue]. Vibe. August 6, 2010 The other two Geto Boys members and the group's management team took Bill out of the hospital room in order to take the picture, removing his eyepatch and intravenous drip in the process. Bill later expressed regret over the album cover, saying, "It still hurts me to look at that cover because that was a personal thing I went through... I still feel the pain from the fact I've got a bullet in my brain... I think it was pretty wrong to do it, even though I went along with the program at first."
Reception
{{Music ratings
|rev1= AllMusic
|rev4= Entertainment Weekly
|rev5= RapReviews
|rev2= Robert Christgau
|rev2Score= {{Rating-Christgau|cut}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=10465|title=Robert Christgau: Album: The Geto Boys: We Can't Be Stopped|website=www.robertchristgau.com}}
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=3 |page=731}}
|rev6= Rolling Stone
|rev6Score= {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite web|url=http://rollingstone.com/artists/getoboys/albums/album/236531/review/6068362/we_cant_be_stopped|title=Geto Boys: We Can't Be Stopped : Music Reviews|last=Tannenbaum|first=Rob|website=Rolling Stone|date=5 September 1991|access-date=1 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012220842/http://rollingstone.com/artists/getoboys/albums/album/236531/review/6068362/we_cant_be_stopped|archive-date=October 12, 2007|url-status=dead}}
|rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev7score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=279}}
}}
Fred Thomas from AllMusic called the album "[the group's] most visceral work, rising to platinum success against the odds and inspiring innovation in the genre with its powerful and distinctively Southern perspective on what rap could be."Thomas, Fred. [http://www.allmusic.com/album/we-cant-be-stopped-mw0000172734 "Geto Boys - We Can't Be Stopped"]. AllMusic. Retrieved June 26, 2019. James Bernard of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "B," saying that much of the “album stings, and their raw honesty has driven it onto the Billboard pop Top 40..."Bernard, James (August 16, 1991). [https://web.archive.org/web/20090421185433/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,315167,00.html "We Can't Be Stopped Review"]. Entertainment Weekly Retrieved June 18, 2011.
The track "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" has been singled out for praise. Pitchfork Media ranked the song #45 on its Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s list, with reviewer Tom Breihan writing "This track established the South as a serious force in the music, proving that these Texans could do dark better than anyone on either coast."[http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7852-the-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s-50-21/ The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s]. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 14 June 2011 XXL ranked the song #14 on its list of the 250 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs from 1990 to 1999.{{cite journal |journal=XXL|title=250 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs Songs 1990-1999|date=24 May 2011|issue=Special Issue |publisher=Harris Publications |url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2011/05/xxl-special-issue-ranks-1990s-rap-songs/ }} The Source gave the track its "Best Song" award in 1991. Robert Christgau gave the album a choice cut rating, only liking "Mind Playing Tricks on Me."
Track listing
{{Track listing
|title1= Rebel Rap Family
|length1= 1:22
|title2=We Can't Be Stopped
|length2= 3:34
|title3= Homie Don't Play That
|length3= 3:48
|title4= Another Nigger in the Morgue
|length4= 3:14
|title5= Chuckie
|length5= 3:48
|title6= Mind Playing Tricks on Me
|length6= 5:11
|title7= I'm Not a Gentleman
|length7= 4:01
|title8= Gota Let Your Nuts Hang
|length8= 4:11
|title9= Fuck a War
|length9= 4:16
|title10= Ain't with Being Broke
|length10= 3:47
|title11= Quickie
|length11= 3:08
|title12= Punk-Bitch Game
|length12= 2:16
|title13= The Other Level
|length13= 6:01
|title14= Trophy
|length14= 3:08
}}
Sample credits
The following samples were used on We Can't Be Stopped:
;"Rebel Rap Family"
:*"Scarface Theme" by Giorgio Moroder
;"Homie Don't Play That"
:*"(Not Just) Knee Deep" by Funkadelic
:*"More Bounce to the Ounce" by Zapp & Roger
:*"West Coast Poplock" by Ronnie Hudson
:*"Atomic Dog" by George Clinton
:*"Pumpin' It Up" by P-Funk Allstars
:*"So Ruff, So Tuff" by Roger Troutman
;"Mind Playing Tricks on Me"
:*"Hung Up on My Baby" by Isaac Hayes
:*"The Jam" by Graham Central Station
;"I'm Not a Gentleman"
:*"I Heard That!!" by Quincy Jones
:*"You'll Like It Too" by Funkadelic
;"Gota Let Your Nuts Hang"
:*"Corey Died on the Battlefield" by The Wild Magnolias
;"Fuck a War"
:*"Devil With the Bust" by Sound Experience
;"Ain't With Being Broke"
:*"Damn Right I Am Somebody" by Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s
;"Quickie"
:*"Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers
:*"Oh Honey" by The Delegation
;"Punk-Bitch Game"
:*"Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" by Sly and the Family Stone
;"The Other Level"
:*"God Make Me Funky" by The Headhunters and The Pointer Sisters
:*"Love Hangover" by Diana Ross
:*"Kool Is Back" by Funk Inc.
;"Trophy"
:*"Terminator X to the Edge of Panic" by Public Enemy
:*"Catch a Groove" by Juice
:*"Soul Makossa" by Manu Dibango
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1991)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{album chart|Billboard200|24|artist=Geto Boys|rowheader=true|access-date=April 7, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|5|artist=Geto Boys|rowheader=true|access-date=April 7, 2021}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1991)
! scope="col"| Position |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Billboard 200{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1991/top-billboard-200-albums|title=Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991|work=Billboard|access-date=April 7, 2021}}
| 87 |
| scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard){{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1991/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1991|work=Billboard|access-date=April 7, 2021}}
| 47 |
| scope="col"| Chart (1992)
! scope="col"| Position |
| scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard){{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1992/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1992|work=Billboard|access-date=April 7, 2021}}
| 69 |
{{col-end}}
=Singles=
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Song !colspan="4"|Chart positions |
|---|
| style="width:4em;font-size:75%"| Hot 100 [http://www.allmusic.com/album/we-cant-be-stopped-r27898/charts-awards/billboard-single We Can't Be Stopped - Charts - Singles]. Allmusic. Retrieved July 26, 2011. !style="width:4em;font-size:75%"| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop !style="width:4em;font-size:75%"| Hot Rap !style="width:4em;font-size:75%"| Rhythmic Top 40 |
| 1991
| style="text-align:center;"| 23 | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 32 |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Geto Boys|title=We Can't Be Stopped|award=Platinum|relyear=1991|certyear=1992|refname=riaa}}
{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}