BACK IN THE DAY |10/3/91| Scarface releases his debut solo album, Mr. Scarface Is Back, on Rap-a-Lot Records.
I was 11 years old when I heard this album. I remember hearing it at my older cousin Seneca’s house and thinking “woah…what am I hearing right now?” Not just the language, but the content.
I love my pops for raising me to be the man that I am today, but this album also had a hand in raising me.
The thing about “Mr. Scarface Is Back” is that unlike much other “gangsta rap” is that to me, Scarface didn’t make any of that street shit sound “cool.” Hearing this album helped me decide at very young age that I wasn’t falling for any okie dokes that would put me in situations like the album cover above. I mean, the big bad ass gangster was dying at the of the songs. Also, just on some life shit, this album reminds you that you aren’t the only one going through something. Mental health is still taboo in the black community but ‘Face was letting you know that black men have mental issues and contemplate suicide in ‘91 when absolutely nobody wanted to address that.
Seeing the video for “A Minute To Pray and Second To Die” also further convinced me that I wanted no parts of those streets.
Shoutout to ‘Face and others for making real “gangsta” music that also presented you with real consequences. Trust, being in those streets brings you more problems than these “gold diggers and haters” that cats complain about now…a whole lot more.
