Meet the Band: Scarface (vocals)
Geto Mentality: Rapper Scarface (née Brad Jordan and fka DJ Akshen) cut his teeth as a member of the seminal rap group, Geto Boys, back in 1989 on their album Grip It! On That Other Level. He quickly became the breakout star of the group and released his first solo album, Mr. Scarface is Back in 1991. As a member of the Geto Boys, Scarface played an integral role in hit songs such as "The World is a Ghetto," "Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" and perhaps the group's most popular song, "Mind Playing Tricks On Me." As a solo artist, Scarface has released 12 albums and collaborated with the likes of Ice Cube, Devin the Dude, Jay Z, Beanie Sigel, Nas, Master P and 2Pac among a plethora of others. To date, he has three RIAA certified platinum albums, along with three certified gold LPs.
Dear Diary: "I'm just a real musician," Scarface says via phone during a busy day in New York as he refers to his ability to remain relevant for so long. "I don't do anything else. I'm authentic. People see that and people respect that about me." Scarface may be a real musician, but he's certainly not solely a musician. His time in the industry has seen him move to being an executive with Def Jam South and also an author, as he collaborated with Benjamin Meadows-ingram to write his memoir, Diary of a Madman in 2015. "There were some other people they were thinking about bringing in," Scarface says about his time as President of Def Jam South. "For me to land an artist of Ludacris' caliber was quite the accomplishment." The process of writing the memoir was tougher than Scarface anticipated, but he looks back on it fondly now. "It was like pulling teeth," he says. "He forced me to dig up some deep shit, but you don't want to leave anything out because someone will come and say 'wait a minute, I was there and here's what really happened.'"
A Facemob Mentality: Scarface's latest release, Deeply Rooted, is one of his most personal works to date. It's also his first release in seven years. "I was apprehensive about doing it at first," he says. These days, he's doing it all through his own imprint, Facemob Music — without a major backing him. The bulk of his career was spent with Rap-A-Lot Records before releasing The Fix with Def Jam South. "After I started letting people hear it and they liked what they were hearing, I felt better about it." Never one to hold their tongue on social and political happenings, he has some choice thoughts about Donald Trump and his run for the Republican nomination. "You already know what that is," he says. "Anyone that has a prejudice towards something, hate towards someone or a fear, that's an ideal candidate to vote for. He ain't goin' no-goddamn-where. You see the hate, you see the prejudice and you see the fear."
Where you can see him: Scarface performs with FDA Music and OG Grip at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 13 and Monday, March 14, at the Grog Shop.
