“The way that Scarface told the truth on Untouchable made me feel like he was talking about my life too. He talks about everything from crooked cops to family to the streets. If folks ain’t mentioning his name with the greats like Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One, they ain’t talking about nothing.” - Z-Ro “UNTOUCHABLE” With one breath ‘Face proved that as an emcee you could be street, clever and cultured at the same time. “SMARTZ” featuring Devin the Dude Always capable of dropping knowledge, ‘Face got into Malcom Farrakhan King mode on this song. He meshed political awareness with spiritual alertness, urging young black males to wake up, read and find something to believe in and fight for. “SMILE” featuring 2Pac and Johnny P When this hit the radio, many thought that this would be the last time they’d hear 2Pac’s voice (boy were we fooled). Beyond that though, this poignant song ranks as one of the best posthumous-Pac appearances and easily became of the most important songs of the year, if not the decade.
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ESSENTIAL SOUTHERN ALBUMS
SCARFACE E UNTOUCHABL 7 Rap-A-Lot /Virgin - 199
by Maurice G. Garland
1
997 was a challenging year in the world of hip-hop when Brad Jordan b.k.a. Scarface gave the world his fourth solo album The Untouchable. It was three years after his monumental The Diary album where he balanced ultra-violent visuals with soul-stirring parables and created what many people still consider his “best” album. However, in the spring of ‘97 when The Untouchable hit the shelves and streets, things were changing. Hip-hop was in its beginning stages of being mass marketed and cross-promoted with anything within arm’s reach. Rappers had begun to invest more time into their business affairs and image than their lyrics and it showed. The voices that defined the fading “Golden Era” of years prior were either switching their tones (i.e. everybody wanted to rap fast like Bone), switching professions (i.e. making movies), falling off the map or unfortunately, dying. In between the time The Diary and The Untouchable were released Eazy-E, 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. had left us, creating a gaping void. With expected leaders like Nas, Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang struggling to recapture the rawness that birthed their careers and Jay-Z still taking baby steps, hip-hop was in need of a solid and familiar voice to stand out. While we may not know if he purposely took on the responsibility, ‘Face provided the sturdiness that hip-hop needed, making a title like The Untouchable both a declaration and a testament. Coming out with an album that only had twelve songs in an age where releases with 18-plus tracks and double-albums were the rave was a statement in itself, ‘Face wasn’t about hopping on a trend. He opened the album with the title track where he displayed incomparable composition skills, totally throwing the concept of 16 bars out the window. The well-deserved arrogance he had on this simple-drummed track showed that even though he was becoming an elder statesman in the game, he could still spit with the fluidity of youngster. Never known to waste a second or a thought, ‘Face bottled years of frustration and rebellion into a two-minutes and thirteen-seconds track on “Southside.” The beat dripped with funk and could tell a story with no words on it. Fortunately though, ‘Face lent a straight-to-the-point 102 OZONE
“MARY JANE” This well-thought and fact-laden ode to the sticky-icky is most people’s reason for owning this CD. More than just a typical “get high” song, ‘Face successfully tried his hand at personification and showed that he is indeed a poet. “MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND” featuring Daz, Devin the Dude and KB This song was so laid-back and so truthful that years later you have to consider that this might have been a freestyle or a late-night smoke session that just happened to get recorded.
narrative of his growth from a high-schooler to an O.G. Songs like “No Warning,” “For Real,” and especially “Ya Money Or Ya Life” captured ‘Face doing what he does best; presenting the motive, action and consequence of every situation labeled as “some street shit.” While ‘Face would not be expected to do anything less than provide relevant lyrics via storytelling or warning-laced advice, he decided to mix up things on this album as well. Unlike his other releases, the syrupy, dark feel of this was coupled with a heavy West-coast influence thanks to ‘Face splitting the bulk of the production between himself, N.O. Joe, Mike Dean and Bay Area veteran producer Tone Capone. The concoction reaches its apex three times. Firstly on the South meets West smoke-session confession “Money Makes the World Go Round” featuring Daz, Devin the Dude and KB. Secondly with one of the albums instant classics “Mary Jane” and thirdly on “Smile.” When you finally mustered the strength to get past the two earlier mentioned songs, your ears got snatched again by “Smartz” featuring Devin the Dude where ‘Face spoke vehemently on government corruption and how Black people need to smarten up and get back in the race of life. He stayed in preacher mode on “Faith” throwing a Baptistpreacher attitude on lines like: “We got these politicians running their game to regain power/While our whole black community sours, Crime rate towers, plagued by white powders/And they claim to be helping us to clean up our community/But ain’t no open opportunities.” The album ended with a crescendo of sorts where ‘Face invited Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Too $hort to appear on “Game Over.” All being legends in their own right, the song was a toast to longevity, independence and straight up clout. Just after one listen, The Untouchable had a lot of us scratching our heads thinking “damn, did he just top The Diary?” That debate that could go on for hours, but one thing has to be agreed upon about this classic. This album showcased the ‘Face that the world has embraced as THE torch-bearer for Southern hip-hop and reality rap.