Scarface

Revered for his streetwise, introspective lyrics, gangsta rap pioneer Scarface is widely considered one of greatest MCs of all time. • The Houston native was known as DJ Akshen before Rap-A-Lot Records founder J. Prince tapped him to join the group Geto Boys—who’d already released one album—in 1989. • Geto Boys topped Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart and crossed over to No. 23 on the Hot 100 with 1993’s horrorcore landmark “Mind Playin’ Tricks on Me”. • In October 1991, as “Mind Playing Tricks On Me” reached its chart peak, Scarface dropped his solo debut, Mr. Scarface Is Back. • Between 1993 and 2002, Scarface landed six solo albums in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, including 1997’s The Untouchable, which reached No. 1. • Geto Boys also remained popular throughout the ’90s and into the ’00s, notching five Top 5 placements on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. • As head of Def Jam South in the early ’00s, Scarface was responsible for signing Ludacris. • Scarface acted in Mike Judge’s 2006 film Idiocracy. The director had previously used a pair of Geto Boys songs in his 1999 comedy Office Space. • In 2019 Scarface ran for Houston’s City Council but lost in a run-off. The previous year, Houston declared June 26 “Brad Jordan Day” in his honour.