Brad Terrence Jordan is the Houston-born rapper better known to you and I as Scarface. His rap career and catalogue began during hip hop’s infancy back when his rapper name was Akshen and he was recording for Short Stop Records with Lil’ Troy. He would later sign with Rap-A-Lot Records and joined the group Ghetto Boys after another member left. After a slight name change,(Geto Boys) the group would release their first LP Grip It! On That Other Level in 1989 which would begin their local legend. Since the Scarface achieved tremendous heights with his groupmates, began production for several artists such as Beanie Siegel and UGK, became president of Def Jam South and helped mentor Ludacris, and won a Lyricist of the Year at the Source Awards along the way. Long considered a legend among hip hop archivists and fans alike, Scarface and the Geto Boys represented the Dirty South and Houston rap LONG before it was cool to do so. Depending on you ask, Scarface’s album The Diary and The Untouchable are among the greatest full-length albums in hip hop’s history. M.A.D.E. is Scarface’s 11th solo release.

With Scarface’s album M.A.D.E. coming out I really didn’t know what to expect. When you consider how many collabos and albums(solo and group) Scarace has appeared on you can’t exactly expect him to be the New England Patriots of hip hop on every verse. He has been close but with him being so late in his long career what can one really expect. Well, on the first track he brings about what you would expect; a very solid track. “Never” has a great sample and a good beat. One interesting line Scarface spits is “I’ll never turn my back on Jesus” which is interesting since he is now Muslim by faith. Not to turn this into a theological debate but assuming he was raised with Protestant roots you would figure his prospective towards Christ would change.

“Big Dog Status” is much more classic Houston. A hook with tons of swagger, strong bassline, and an organ synth ala UGK. As you would imagine, it’s an ode to Scarface’s legacy and his amount of stroke in the game. He chronicles how early he achieved his success and how young he was when he was able to live a lifestyle so many dream of.

On “Girl You Know”, Face and producer Nottz borrow Lenny Williams’ heavily borrowed “Cause I Love You”. Scarface describes the concrete bubble that is monogamy and relationships and how people find themselves trapped in situations with the opposite sex that can go bad quickly. What’s interesting about this track is he tells the story both first and third person with each verse being both hypothetical and non-fiction. Pretty solid track.

“Burn” features Z-Ro who has long been one of the most severely underrated emcees in the game. He’s probably one of the best rappers most have never heard of but unfortunately he’s only on the hook here. The track is a hood tale of how what’s done is what’s necessary in order to make money no matter what the casualties are. It’s a story we’ve heard on virtually every rap album you’ve ever listened to but a valid and true one nonetheless. After all, few talked about what went on in 5th Ward in Houston before Geto Boys.

The next track of note is “Who Do You Believe In”. Out of everything said in this track most notable may be Scarface’s comment on the war. He won’t be the last rapper to express his displeasure for our war in Iraq but in a way only Scarface can portray he said, “That Saddam sh#t is dead let’s see you f*ck with them Koreans”. Real talk by Face because I get the feeling that’s the threat the next generation will be talking in a “cold war” type of way.

Honestly, the rest of the tracks don’t serve any significance for the sake of the review. There are some other good beats(”Get Out My Face” by Enigma) but most of the rest of the album is monotonous. The album has it’s high points as Scarface proves that he undoubtedly still has some gas in the tank. Unfortunately, he reminds me of several NBA stars on new teams right now; not consistent enough to lead his album to another title.

The album is good enough to be a solid B rating.