Scarface

Brad Terrence Jordan (born November 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Scarface, is an American rapper and record producer, best known as a member of the Geto Boys, a hip hop group from Houston, Texas. He grew up in Houston and is originally from the city's South Acres (Crestmont Park) neighborhood. In 2012, The Source ranked him #16 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time, while About.com ranked him #10 on its list of the 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987-2007).

Early life and education

Scarface attended Woodson Middle School in Houston, Texas. He was brought up as a Christian, and converted to Islam in 2006.

Career

He began his career as DJ Akshen (pronounced Action) recording and deejaying for Lil' Troy's Short Stop, a local record label in Houston. After releasing the 12" single "Scarface/Another Head Put To Rest" (1989), written by Chris "Mr. 3-2" Barriere and produced by Def Jam Blaster,Bruce "Grim" Rhodes, he would go on to sign with Rap-A-Lot and join a group who were collectively known as Geto Boys replacing a member who left, and released the group's second album Grip It! On That Other Level (1989), a highly successful album that garnered the group a large fanbase, in spite of their violent lyrics keeping them from radio and MTV. He took his stage name from the 1983 film Scarface.

In 1992, Scarface appeared (along with Bushwick Bill) on the Kool G Rap & DJ Polo album Live and Let Die.

The album Mr. Scarface Is Back was a success, and Scarface's popularity soon overshadowed the other Geto Boys. Scarface remained in the group while releasing a series of solo albums that kept him in the public view with increasing sales, making him the only Geto Boys member that has always remained with the group since the group personnel was revamped in 1989. This peaked with The Diary and The Last of a Dying Breed, the latter of which received positive reviews and sales, and earned him Lyricist of the Year at the 2001 Source Awards.

In 2002, he released The Fix, the follow-up to The Last of a Dying Breed and returned to the studio with the Geto Boys for their album, The Foundation. He was also featured on The Biggie Duets alongside Big Gee and Akon. He guested on Ray Cash's debut single "Bumpin' My Music".

In addition to his career as a rapper, Scarface was the coordinator and president of Def Jam South from 2000-2005, where he has fostered the career of rapper Ludacris, whom he originally signed to the label.

Scarface has appeared on Freeway's album Free at Last and on Beanie f's album, The Solution. Scarface has produced three tracks on UGK's Underground Kingz including "Life Is 2009", "Still Ridin' Dirty", and "Candy".

Some of Scarface's early music videos ("A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die") featured community activist Quanell X in supporting roles.

In 2008, Scarface collaborated with rapper Tech N9ne on his album Killer on the song "Pillow Talkin'".

Despite limited commercial appeal, he remains out of the norm and popular among those in the industry, and has been described as "your favorite rapper's favorite rapper". On August 6, 2009 Scarface performed at the 2009 Gathering of the Juggalos. In 2005, comedian Chris Rock praised Scarface as one of the best three rappers of all time on his list of the Top-25 Hip-Hop Albums ever.

On June 30, 2010, Scarface announced that he was working on a new album entitled The Habit, which would include features from John Legend and Drake, and that it was scheduled for release that fall. For one production on the album, Scarface co-hosted a worldwide producer showcase with iStandard from which thousands of producers were considered and after a selection of the top 8, Alex Kresovich was named winner. The album would feature a production from Eminem. In February 2011, news came that he had been held in jail without bail since September 2010 for failure to pay child support in four different cases. As of August 2011, Scarface was released from jail. In 2012, Scarface collaborated with Ice Cube on an Insane Clown Posse remix called "Chris Benoit" on The Mighty Death Pop!'s bonus album Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium.

Media appearances

Scarface appeared in the Mike Judge film Idiocracy as a pimp named Upgrayedd. Judge also used the Scarface track "No Tears" and Geto Boys tracks "Still" and "Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" in his 1999 film Office Space.

He has appeared in the two video games: Def Jam Vendetta and its sequel Def Jam: Fight For NY.

At the 2015 BET Hip Hop Awards, he received the I Am Hip Hop award.

Personal life

Scarface claims to be a cousin of singer Johnny Nash.

Bibliography

Scarface released a memoir on April 21, 2015, which details various moments from his childhood, getting his first record deal from Rap-A-Lot, and his tenure at Def Jam South.

• Diary of a Madman (2015)

Discography

Solo albums

• Mr. Scarface Is Back (1991)
• The World Is Yours (1993)
• The Diary (1994)
• The Untouchable (1997)
• My Homies (1998)
• The Last of a Dying Breed (2000)
• The Fix (2002)
• My Homies Part 2 (2006)
• Made (2007)
• Emeritus (2008)
• Deeply Rooted (2015)

Collaboration albums

• The Other Side of the Law with Facemob (1996)
• One Hunid with The Product (2006)

Compilation albums

• Deeply Rooted: The Lost Files (2017)