Bushwick Bill was born under the name Richard Stephen Shaw in Kingston,
Jamaica, on December 1, 1966. His father is a merchant marine, and his
mother a maid. According to a source from the Houston Chronicle, he is
a high school dropout, and reads at the fourth grade level. He has
failed a majority of courses in his freshman year in high school. Like
actors Billy Barty and Herve Villechaize, he is a dwarf. His stage name
came from the Brooklyn district that he lived in.
