Hearing the name Scarface, many think of the popular 1983 film starring a young Al Pacino, but Scarface, the rapper, is looked at as one of the South’s greatest to ever touch a mic. His success began when he signed to Rap-a-Lot Records in 1989 as the newest member of the Ghetto Boys, which would soon be renamed to Geto Boys. Their first album together in 1989, Grip It! On That Other Level, was a huge hit thanks to the blend of political conscious and twisted violent raps on records like “Do It Like a G.O.” and “Mind Of A Lunatic.” Scarface released his debut solo project, Mr. Scarface Is Back, in 1991 garnering him some extra popularity, but he was still over shined by the Geto Boys’ release of We Can’t Be Stopped that same year.
Scarface managed to be successful at a time when southern rap, and even rap in general, wasn’t popular on a mainstream level. Probably due to his demented and horror filled lyrics, Scarface and the Geto Boys’ songs weren’t played often on northern radio and some videos were banned from MTV. Still, Scarface continue to push southern rap in front of the public eye. His solo career climaxed between 1994 and 1998 with the release of three straight platinum albums. The Untouchable put Scarface at the very top of the Billboard 100 chart in 1997 with the lead single “Smile” featuring a recently slain Tupac Shakur. When the new millenium arrived Scarface signed a deal with Def Jam Records, and simultaneously became the president of Def Jam South, signing the Atlanta based rapper Ludacris. His 2002 release, The Fix, included several features and producers; Vocalists Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Nas, and Faith Evans along with production work from Kanye West, The Neptunes, Mike Dean, and Nottz. Today, Scarface is allegedly working on a new album, and has done feature verses for other artist such as the Insane Clown Posse and 2 Chainz.
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