66. Scarface - Mr. Scarface (Rap-a-Lot. 1991. From the LP Mr. Scarface Is Back)
Mike Dikk: Though I’ve always thought Scarface was heavily underrated as a rapper due to his geographic location, I never actively listened to his solo stuff. I’ve heard this song before, along with most of the other stuff, but I’ve never really CELEBRATED it.
It’s kind of like most other Scarface songs in the way that it’s totally on point, but Tupac would get more acclaim for basically the same damn thing because he got shot dead. I saw an ad a few months back for a Scarface/Tupac duet record creatively called 2Face. I’m not sure if it ever actually came out, but that right there makes me believe that Scarface never really had a problem with Tupac, though in my mind, I think he should have.
I honestly don’t have much else to say about this song. I think it’s on here more for its historical significance than anything. It’s the first song on his first record, and it's his first real memorable solo song but I personally think he went on to record far better songs than this one. Not saying this is a bad song, but I think he grew (that's an industry term) a lot over time. He's one of the very few rappers to get better as time went on. I could be alone on this because I’m not from the south and don't understand the way the southern inebriated mind works, but I think most people would agree with me.
Raven Mack: The cover of this album was basically Willie D and Bushwick holding guns at two other dudes who were holding guns at them, with Scarface looking sort of upset all in the middle of all this, with the scene creatively shot in front of a like a blank grey wall. I'm also not sure how this song distinguished itself from a bunch of other shit, but I do know that Rap-a-Lot is probably the greatest rap label ever in all of everything. I mean, Scarface is considered a great rapper, and his biggest success was standing alongside a one-eyed midget dude.
However, as much as I enjoy Scarface, this song is no better than many others he did, and on top of that, this song is one of the earliest things I can remember that did something that's pretty common in Southern rap now that I find fucking stupider than fuck - the reworking of childhood nursery rhymes into something about having sex or a stripper's vagina or selling drugs. I do not want nursery rhymes turned vulgar. This was barely funny when Rudy Ray Moore or Redd Foxx did it. For this fact, I cannot give this song too much love.
Download: Scarface - Mr. Scarface
I don't think a real video for this exists, so watch a poorly shot video of Scarface performing live:
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