quickly became the South's most admired rapper and remained so throughout the '90s after breaking away from
to launch his solo career in 1991. Even if he never scored any national hits or stormed up the charts with any of his numerous albums throughout the '90s, no one could question his clout throughout the South. He essentially defined what it meant to be a Southern thug rapper years before anyone even coined the term Dirty South. This became glaringly evident in the late '90s when a massive wave of young MCs arose from Houston, New Orleans, and Memphis emulating his style of hard-boiled, ghetto-bred, straight-up hardcore rapping. Besides serving as the father of Southern thug rap, it seemed as if every hardcore rapper wanted to align himself with
-- all in an attempt to foster credibility among the loyal Southern rap audience. Yet despite his unquestionable influence,
never crossed over to mainstream success. His albums were often plagued with filler, his lyrics were simply too harsh for radio, and his devotion to producer
led to a stagnant, albeit trademark, sound. Still, likely
never crossed over and remained aligned to the streets, his influence never waned, making him one of the few veterans able to sustain in the here-today, gone-tomorrow rap game. In the early 2000s, Def Jam Records rewarded his staying power with a lucrative contract, a wealth of industry connections, and a powerful marketing push.
(2002), and a revival of interest in his back catalog, which his former label, Rap-a-Lot, repackaged that same year on
Before
Brad Jordan (born November 9, 1970) became known as
Scarface, he called himself
Akshen. As such, he began his rap career first as a solo artist in his native Houston during the mid-'80s for
James Smith's then-fledging Rap-a-Lot label.
Smith was trying to launch a group he tagged
the Geto Boys, and he eventually asked
Akshen to join the group in the late '80s.
The Geto Boys' second album (and first to feature
Scarface) --
Grip It! On That Other Level (1990), later repackaged and re-released that same year simply as
The Geto Boys -- shocked many with its vivid depictions of violence and its overall extreme nature. This album featured the song "Scarface," which introduced
Akshen's alter ego, a title he would keep from that point onward. The ensuing controversy surrounding the group's debut put
the Geto Boys on the map and set the stage for the impressive
We Can't Be Stopped (1991). In the wake of the group's national success came solo albums, one of which being
Scarface's debut,
Mr. Scarface Is Back (1991). The album made it evident who the group's most talented member was, and the acclaim showered on
Scarface resulted in bitter tensions among his fellow
Geto Boys:
Bushwick Bill and
Willie D. By the time
Scarface returned with his follow-up album,
The World Is Yours (1993), his reputation overshadowed that of his group's.
Willie D consequently departed, and
the Geto Boys never again rivaled
We Can't Be Stopped, releasing half-hearted, albeit popular, efforts with a new lineup before later reuniting in the late '90s. In the meantime,
Scarface continued to funnel his efforts into additional solo efforts:
The Diary (1994) and
Untouchable (1997). He then released the double-disc
My Homies (1998), a bloated effort laden with guests, many of the South's leading rappers.
It wasn't until 2000, though, that
Scarface won substantial admiration from the greater rap community with
Last of a Dying Breed (2000), his most personal and focused album in years. As a result, he was awarded Lyricist of the Year at the 2001 Source Awards and was offered a promising deal with Def Jam Records. The powerhouse East Coast label wanted
Scarface to helm its Def Jam South subsidiary division, and the rapper obliged, first signing
Ludacris, who became an overnight superstar, and then releasing his own album,
The Fix (2002). Led by a
Kayne West-produced collaboration with
Jay-Z, "Guess Who's Back," it spawned a popular single, "My Block," and attracted widespread embrace. Rap-a-Lot furthered
Scarface's newfound coast-to-coast acceptance with the rapper's first best-of collection,
Greatest Hits (2002). In turn, he reunited with
Willie D and
Bushwick Bill and put together
The Foundation (2005), another
Geto Boys album. In 2006 he introduced his new crew,
the Product, with the album
One Hunid and released a second volume of
My Homies. Also landing in 2006 was
2 Face, a collection of tracks featuring
Scarface and the late
2Pac.
MADE proved that
Scarface was still relevant in 2007; it debuted at number two on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. A year later he retired his solo career with the good-bye album
Emeritus.
–
Jason Birchmeier, Rovi