Finding The GOAT Group: Geto Boys vs. N.W.A. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual competition series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry (which has been determined), including the possibility for write-in candidates, to ensure no deserving band of MCs and DJs is neglected. The 2018 contest consists of seven rounds, NCAA basketball-tournament style, leading to a Top 32, then the Sweet 16 and so on, until one winner is determined. For each match-up, two groups are pitted against one another with a ballot to decide which one advances to the next round. Though there will be an enormous amount of debate in comments, on social media, in barbershops and text messages, which we encourage, only votes cast in the official ballot count.

It’s a Gangsta Rap grudge-match in Round 2. In the 1990s, members of N.W.A. and the Geto Boys would collaborate. However, as the Rap map was expanding in the ’80s, these two blunt, explicit, and hardcore squads were often compared against each other. In just two albums and a compilation, N.W.A.’s run is dwarfed to GB’z by comparison. However, Rap-A-Lot’s ensemble of lyrical bad boys never matched the mainstream recognition of their Compton counterparts. Hip-Hop Heads get to debate this match-up with a ballot. Make your voice heard.

Geto Boys
(defeated Goodie Mob in Round 1, 73% to 27%)

One of the pioneering Southern Rap groups, the Geto Boys have undergone personnel changes throughout their 30-plus-year legendary career, but is best known as the trio of Scarface, Bushwick Bill, and Willie D. The Houston, Texas-based group’s knack for realist rhymes, particularly Face’s ability to tell tales of struggle, fear and triumph bridged the gap between Gangsta Rap and reflective songwriting. Between the late ’80s and the mid-2000s, the GB’z stood as a trusted brand in music, making music always viewed as underground by media standards, which still could achieve platinum and gold status. 2005’s The Foundation showed that the chemistry was intact in the studio (and on the road). These artists that wanted solo careers from the very beginning may still do some shows together, but there are no more albums on the horizon. Including past and interim members Big Mike, DJ Ready Red, Sire Jukebox, as well as Prince Johnny C, the group has written its history adhering to the G-code.

N.W.A.
(Defeated UGK in Round 1, 67% to 33%)

When Hip-Hop Heads think of West Coast groups, N.W.A. steps forth is one of the first and most impactful. The Compton, California-based quintet of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella ushered Gangsta Rap to the mainstream consciousness during the late 1980s, spawning classic material both as a group and separated as solo artists. The group’s proper debut, Straight Outta Compton, produced songs that were monumental and made some of the boldest statements Rap music has ever witnessed: “F*ck Tha Police,” “Gangsta Gangsta,” and “Straight Outta Compton.” In between the pageantry of gun-toting, carousing, misogynist gangsters on the edge of sanity, Ni**az Wit Attitudes could speak for the voiceless far beyond Hub City. Arguably, the collective lost its best lyricist (Cube) after just one album. By 1991, the remaining four disbanded. In less than four years, leader Eazy-E was diagnosed with AIDS and passed away shortly after. In just two albums and a compilation, these brothers gave Gangsta Rap an Attitude that still rings strong.

Finding The GOAT Group: A Tribe Called Quest vs. Black Sheep. Who Is Better?

So who is the better Hip-Hop group? Make sure you vote above.