Scarface - The Diary

Brad Jordan had already delivered two solo albums and three with the Geto Boys by the time he made The Diary in 1994, and none of them prepared anyone for this. Thirty seven minutes long, almost entirely first person, and preoccupied with death in a way that has more in common with Southern gothic literature than with gangsta rap.

"I Seen A Man Die" is the track everyone reaches for, a slow, organ heavy meditation on watching someone go that Scarface delivers with no theatrics whatsoever. "Hand Of The Dead Body" brings in Ice Cube and Devin the Dude for the album's clearest argument, a direct response to politicians blaming rap for violence they had no interest in understanding. "No Tears" and "Jesse James" are the hardest things here, and "Mind Playin' Trick 94" revisits the Geto Boys landmark from a solo vantage.

It was one of a small handful of albums to receive a perfect rating from the rap press on release, and it is still the record people point to when they argue Scarface is the best rapper the South ever produced.

Remastered double LP on black vinyl for Rap-A-Lot's 4 Life 40 Years series.