If you find Houston hip-hop icon Scarface’s beats and lyrics to be aggressive, controversial and defiant, you should probably prepare yourself for the possibility that after nearly 30 years in the game, he’s just getting started.
“I been woke,” says the highly influential artist. “It’s time to expose a lot of sh*t going on that either a lot of people aren’t aware of, or they’re aware but they wanna turn a blind eye. I’m gonna open up a lot of eyes.
“Life ain’t never been about a big-ass party, it’s always about educating your young. You heard that it takes a village? I’m fixing to ignite that village.”
Two years ago, the acclaimed MC released Deeply Rooted, his 12th studio album and first in seven years. “I didn’t know how the public was going to accept it in this climate and era, but they were very receptive,” he says. “I had some songs left over I didn’t use and different versions of other songs that didn’t come out.” That brings us to this week’s release of Deeply Rooted: The Lost Files.
’Face, who’s touring with a live band and has been known to shock the audience with his guitar skills, is ready to get back in the studio in early 2018. If it seems like he’s fired up because of the political climate—and government shortfalls exposed by the natural disaster in his hometown and other places—that’s how he’s always been, and he’s doing what he’s always done.
“I don’t think things just got all f*cked up; things have been f*cked up. It was never difficult to write about it, because it’s always been there,” he says. “We can thank social media for what we have right now, because social media sees everything. The camera is always on. I just make music that reflects the times.” Scarface & DJ Quik at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, December 19.
