Legendary Houston rapper Bushwick Bill, a founding member of the iconic Geto Boys, died June 9 after a fight with pancreatic cancer at just 52 years old. A GoFundMe page was subsequently started but quickly received backlash after people on social media questioned why he needed crowdfunding. His team is now speaking out.
READ MORE: Legendary Rapper Bushwick Bill Dies At 52
“There’s been some confusion due to false reports, in regards to the intent of the GoFundMe page,” Bushwick Bill’s family wrote on his verified Instagram account on Monday. “It appears that many people have either not read the description on the page (photo 2), or just completely misunderstood the context. This amount wasn’t configured solely for the funeral expenses, hence why it’s not even listed in that category nor mentioned on there.”
The post continued, “The description clearly states that the Bushwick Bill Fund was created in his honor by the family for 2 reasons: To provide everyone who inquired about how they can help out/where they can donate with a trustworthy place to give directly to us (to help with ALL of the expenses of his), and also to fulfill his final wish that his kids are taken care of with what he wanted them to have (originally from the tour that was canceled.) This was created to combat all of the fake/unauthorized events composed by random people claiming proceeds would be donated to the family.
The captioned concluded with “It’s unfortunate and insensitive that people are going so far to misconstrue this entire situation and create some kind of messy scandal out of it. We hope this clears things up for you all, and we appreciate the support. Sincerely, The Family.”
See the post below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzGwQzEgQ0x/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Hopefully, that clears up any drama.
Bushwick Bill, whose real name is Richard Stephen Shaw and was born with dwarfism, told TMZ in early May about his diagnosis.
“‘We see a mass on your pancreas and we can’t understand because it’s not alcohol, it’s not sugar, it’s not diabetes’ — they went through all kind of stuff,” he said doctors told him. “Finally, by February they said it was stage four pancreatic cancer.”
He said he didn’t fear death.
“It’s not like I’m afraid of dying. I know what it’s like on the other side,” he said. “That’s not what it’s really about. It’s about life and loving life. I just want people to be aware so that when they set dreams or goals, they’re healthy enough to fulfill and live.”
Pancreatic cancer has long targeted Black people, but even more vexing was the fact that so little is known about it, including what causes it. The statistics for pancreatic cancer victims along racial lines are damning, with a lopsided number of Black people being diagnosed with the ailment. Scientists haven’t determined what causes pancreatic cancer, and treatment options are limited, according to the American Cancer Society. However, there were several risk factors that physicians have concluded were linked to pancreatic cancer, including tobacco use and being overweight or obese.
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine found through clinical research that the “incidence of pancreatic cancer is 50 – 90% higher in African Americans than in any other racial group in the United States. Not only is pancreatic cancer more common among African Americans, but African Americans also have the poorest prognosis of any racial group because they often are diagnosed with advanced, and therefore, inoperable cancer.”
The Geto Boys is most known for the hip-hop classic song, “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” See the classic video below.
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