Bushwick Bill Released From Custody, No Longer Facing Deportation

Bushwick Bill is a free man. Facing the threat of deportation, after getting arrested in Atlanta last May for drug charges, XXLMag.com has learned that the former Geto Boy won his removal case, and was released from custody last Monday (October 18). XXL spoke to the Jamaican-born rapper and his lawyer to clarify his legal status in the country.

According to his attorney, Carlos Solomiany, when Bill was arrested five months ago for possession of marijuana, police did a background check and found out that along with carrying a green-card, he had three previous convictions on his record. After paying his bail, BB was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who tried to initiate removal proceedings against him. But after last Thursday’s hearing on the case, the rap vet is “back to being a lawful permanent resident of the United States,” Solomiany said.

Although the misdemeanor charges are still pending, Solomiany is confident that the Small Souljah will not have to serve any more time behind bars, as he hopes to enroll him into a rehabilitation drug court program.

Fans first became aware of Chuckwick’s legal troubles when he failed to show for an appearance at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors last June, where he was scheduled to perform the Geto Boys’s classic song “Mind Playing Tricks on Me,” along with Willie D. Game took over in Bill’s absence.

Although the Little Big Man is now free, it doesn’t seem like fans will ever get to see the veteran Southern rap group together any time soon. XXL asked Bill if he plans on working with Willie D and Scarface again, and he said they didn’t seem interested in his new musical direction. His 2009 album, My Testimony of Redemption, saw the born-again rapper rhyming about his religious leanings.

“I don’t think any of them is interested,” he said of appearing on record with his former partners-in-rhyme. “I’ve never got the vibe that they would do a gospel song. ‘Cause when they talking about doing another Geto Boys album I said I would do it if I could rap like I’m rapping on my gospel album, I didn’t get a whole lot of cosigning on that from all the political parties concerned.”

Bill is currently working on his new album, The Road to Redemption. A court date has yet to be determined in his misdemeanor drug case. —Jesse Gissen