Brad Scarface Jordan - Diary of a Madman

Calling Brad Jordan a genius is simply just too lazy. Its overstood. I always call him by his government and given name because if the name Jordan typifies greatness in sports and culture today, then this Jordan of rap clearly is that cat. The dude is also Thelonious Monk reincarnated in spit.

He gives off the impression that he is just merely squeezing the surface of his skill sets from his vast mind. Its hard to tell what is swirling next in his hip-hop vision and that unpredictability has led to pioneering the Trill ground of Houston, Texas, and the whole damn South for that matter.

I remember speaking at a university in Kansas City in 1990 at the beginnings of my lecture circuit career. After the event, my rap crew buddies Daheeteus and JLee of the Heet Mob took me to a party where the DJ played this new record hed just gotten at least six timesGeto Boys, Mind Playing Tricks on Me. I had embraced the Geto Boys in my first tour travels to HTown. In the hotel lobby, post-concert, usually it was DJ Ready Red and Bushwick Bill who stood out. Mr. Willie Dennis also became a friend of mine. The PE crew and I were fans of his out front, confrontational style. I got to know them better while touring together later on, including the usually quiet Scarface. Usually in the background and cordial, still, it seemed like there were three dudes in the same body. Thats when I simply started to call him Mr. Brad Jordan.

Mr. Brad Jordans achievements since those early days are folklore now, lyrical lines of legend. As Baird Flatline Warnick, the curator of my site, Hiphopgods.com (@hiphopgods), says, Scarface has lyrics that you can feeland wear.

It could be said that Brad Jordan is one of the best to ever do it. It could be said hes the realest and the truest, and that hes one of the greatest to ever touch a mic. This could be debated all day long, but what cant be debated is the enormous impact hes had on hip-hop culture from day one. What also cant be debated is that he is a true artist, one who approaches hip-hop as what it truly is at its coreART. And therein lies my comparison to Monk.

Brad Jordan is an artist with words as a tool or a weapon. With laserlike precision he is able to craft entire songs and albums, as part of the Geto Boys or on the solo tip, unlike anyone else. He can put the fear of God in you, turn around and uplift you, then take you down a path that you never saw coming. He can put fear into your heart and also touch your soul at the same time. He can take you on a journey to the dark side and also bring you to the light. That is the beauty of what he does. There is so much to him, so many layers to peel back as an MC, as an artist, and as a man. Hip-hop needs more artists like him, but he is a true original.

The longevity, the ability to produce such a huge body of classic work is staggering and yet, should come as no surprise. His work ethic and dedication to his craft is unparalleled in an industry where youre here today and gone tomorrow. Singles and albums by Scarface are always met with the highest level of anticipation because, as a fan of the man, you know he will always deliver. You also have to wonder what kind of jewel or quotable lines he might say next. Those who take the time to listen are rewarded every time, and looking back on his career, the track record proves itself. Classic albums recorded as part of the Geto Boys are essential listening, while his solo projects prove time and time again why he is considered one of the greats, and we should celebrate that. We should celebrate how he is able to fly the flag for hip-hop music, how throughout his career hes been able to make an impact far greater than just being a rapper from the South.

Forget Stephen King, in hip-hop and rap Brad Jordan is bigger than that, he has created and crafted timeless music, kicked down the doors in the name of hip-hop and he demands respect.

Chuck D

My life happened so fast. One minute, Im in the hospital depressed, and the next minute Im at James Princes ranch recording an album with a bunch of motherfuckers I hardly know. One minute, I aint got a dime in my pocket; the next minute Im buying houses and cars on fucking credit cards. One minute, Im just another nigga with no father from the Southside of Houston, Texas; the next minute, motherfuckers are calling me the Godfather of Southern Rap (whatever that means). I came from the least of the least and Ive had the most of the most. But more than anything, I am you. If you dont know me, or my career, or who I am or what Ive done, thats what Id tell you: I am you. Im the way you think and the way you feel; the things youve seen and loved and the things youve seen that you can never unsee. Im your hopes and your fears, the quiet, dark moments that house the secrets that you hold tight deep at night and the loud public moments that grip and rip your block in broad daylight. Im the pain and the progress, the sadness and the celebration, the dream and the nightmare. I am you. I am your voice. I am the voice of the streets. Im Brad, Im Face, I am BrotherMob. Im Scarface. I gave my life to this game. Im the realest whos ever done it. I am the truth. And this is my story.

Looking back, I think I just wanted the attention. I see that now. But back then, I felt like attention was the last thing I wanted.

I wouldnt have been able to tell you if it was any one specific thing that had pushed me to that point. I just know that I was mad. Mad and sad. And I know that I felt like no one wanted me. My daddy was dead and my mama didnt want me. I didnt really get along with my stepdad, and my grandma already had nine kids of her own, so there wasnt really a place for me at her house either. I just felt like I couldnt do shit right, and the only way I could get any attention was by fucking up. No one would come to watch me play football or check out my baseball games or any shit like that, but as soon as I popped some kid in the face or busted somebodys head open in class, everyone was there, telling me I was fucked up for what Id done, trying to take away my privileges and shit like that. That was the attention I was getting: for being a fuck-up.

I was always being punished or outcast from the rest of the family because of some shit I had done, so every conversation at home was like, Oh, you know they caught him with some weed, huh? Or, You know he was back there selling dope? Or, You know he got an F on his report card? Or, You know he hit that boy in the head with that baseball bat? There was just always some kind of fucked-up shit going on with me, and by the time I was thirteen I was over it. I felt like everyonemy teachers, my classmates, the other parents in the neighborhood, my own familywas mad at me and on some fuck-you shit. So to me it was like, Fuck you, too, then. Shit. You dont have to tell me twice.

I would spend a lot of time alone. Id go in my room at my moms house and not come out for weeks, just trying to find me. And I didnt always like what I found. I was raised with the idea that I was born dying. That with every breath you take, you get closer to your last. Its something Ive always known. So my mentality, even back then, was always, Whats the worst that could happen? That I could die or be killed? But Im born dying, so death is inevitable. Why should I be scared of that? So being alone just gave me something to really think about. And with shit going so wrong for me then and with me constantly feeling like everything was fucked and I couldnt do anything right, the conclusion I came to was that I might as well just get it over with. Fuck it.