It’s not often that I receive several texts sending me the same video but that’s what has happened since the Scarface Tiny Desk dropped. Most of my day ones have been fans of Scarface going back to the Geto Boys days so to see him pop up on this performance strumming a guitar was dope. There’s always the fear that an aging rapper’s vocal chords will be toast but that wasn’t the case at all. Brad Jordan sounded great. Here it is if you haven’t peeped it yet.
My older brother was a huge Geto Boys fan back in the day so I got to hear Scarface in the early 90’s on albums like The Geto Boys and We Can’t Be Stopped. How could a youngster like myself not see this album artwork and press play? Geto Boys out the 5th ward were raw. Just look at Bushwick Bill, Willie Dee, and Face…. G shit.
I heard Scarface on tracks like the self-titled “Scarface” and he just sounded so natural on the mic. It was effortless to Scarface to tell stories and spit dope rhymes over some funky beats.
The Geto Boys were and are one of the best rap groups of all time. The fact that they popped off in Texas and never really sold out was legit. Can you think of any instances when any of the crew made a track that didn’t sound like them? They kept it trill way before keeping it trill was a thing. When they each broke out to do their solo albums you wondered how they’d sound without their crew…. Face showed that he was a standout all by his lonesome in tracks like “Money and the Power”. His slow drawl in that track is just too ill.
Tracks like “Now I Feel Ya” were immaculate. Face was one with the beat with the penwork that couldn’t find many others on his level. His delivery was just so calm and deliberate. Listeners hung on every bar nodding their heads knowing that Face was one of the greats.
Just go look at Scarface’s discography and then flip through the tracklists. Scarface’s greatest hits rivals many of hip hop’s greatest yet he never gets mentioned with Pac, Cube, Biggie, Jigga, Nas, or Andre. If he was from Compton and/or on Death Row would he have been a worldwide smash? I think so? Bushwick got that nice The Chronic intro but what if Face had a verse on the classic? What if he was on “High Powered” instead of RBX? Maybe it’s best he came from Houston. He stayed on the low for the most part.
During the pandemic, there were rumors travelling that Scarface was on his deathbed. I think he got Covid really bad right? That was one of my first memories of Covid being something real because here was one of my favorite rappers that was struggling with Covid and might not make it. Luckily he pushed through and made it out the other side. During that time I was going through Face’s discography trying to figure out what my favorite tracks of his was. Favorite album had to be The Fix but favorite Facemob track???
I think I remember the CD booklet came in a ziplock baggie… Anybody remember that?
“I Seen a Man Cry” is an all-time great. “Smile” with Pac is absolutely in consideration for top track. Posse tracks like “F*ck Faces” and In and Out” tho? Too damn nice… But if I can only listen to one Scarface track the rest of my life you know what it’s got to be right? “On My Block” without a doubt. One of the best rap beats ever with Scarface at his peak in the rap game. This is forever timeless.
It’s been fun going back and listening to a lot of Scarface’s older albums… You have a favorite? Drop it in the comments and let me know what you’re feeling.