15. I'm Dead (1991)

“Aww sh**… I’m dead”

“I’m Dead” serves as a haunting and fitting closer to Scarface’s Mr. Scarface Is Back, a debut that deserves more credit in the annals of gangsta rap. The track unfolds like a dark, eerie short story, with Face grappling with the chilling revelation that he’s dead. Its atmospheric production and chilling lyrics create a memorable vibe, reinforcing the stark, introspective nature of the entire album.

Though Mr. Scarface Is Back often flies under the radar compared to later classics, “I’m Dead” is proof of the album’s strength and Scarface’s early ability to craft vivid, compelling narratives. As an ending note, it’s a perfect conclusion to an album full of raw emotion, gritty realism, and haunting imagery. It encapsulates the themes of life, death, and everything in between that Scarface would continue to explore throughout his career.

14. Game Over ft. Dr Dre, Ice Cube & Too Short (1997)

“With no hesitation I got a team to come clown ya / I down ya, so let your people know what they face / With the type of individual that’ll bomb a sub-station / Kaboom! and everybody dies outside / There ain’t no escapin’ the Reaper so don’t try…”

“Game Over” is a star-studded collaboration from Scarface’s The Untouchable album. With Dr. Dre providing a signature, smooth yet hard-hitting beat, the track shines with guest appearances from Ice Cube, Too Short, and Dre himself. Too Short kicks things off with an iconic intro, setting the stage for a West Coast-heavy vibe that’s hard to ignore. Dre’s verse adds another layer of excellence, while Ice Cube’s hook ties everything together.

This track exemplifies Scarface’s ability to pull together an all-star team and make it work, with each artist bringing their own flair. The chemistry between Face and his collaborators makes “Game Over” an undeniable highlight from The Untouchable, which is packed with bangers from start to finish.

13. Mental Exorcism (2015)

“But loyalty versus greed equals f*** that / I need to talk but there ain’t no one to listen / Lost inside a mental exorcism…”

“Mental Exorcism” from Scarface’s Deeply Rooted album (available on the extended edition) is a powerful reflection of his continued relevance in Hip Hop. Released in 2015, this track shows Face confronting the emotional toll of street life while acknowledging the deeper, societal issues impacting his community. The song’s hauntingly introspective lyrics reveal Scarface’s struggle with personal demons, both internal and external, while grappling with the harsh reality of police brutality.

The emotional weight of the track is paired with a dark, brooding beat that mirrors the gravity of its themes. The accompanying music video enhances this, featuring a montage of Black Lives Matter protests and footage of police violence, making the track both a personal and political statement. Deeply Rooted may be Scarface’s 12th and supposedly final album, but “Mental Exorcism” proves the Houston legend still had the power to address contemporary issues with unmatched authenticity and skill.

12. Look Me In My Eyes (2000)

“Sometimes I wanna die, maybe I’ll be free / Free from all this bullsh** that’s constantly surrounding me…” 

“Look Me In My Eyes” is a highlight from Scarface’s The Last of a Dying Breed—an album that marked a return to form after the commercial success of My Homies. While My Homies had its moments, it was weighed down by a bloated tracklist and too many guest features. In contrast, The Last of a Dying Breed gave Scarface room to shine solo, and this track stands as a prime example of his raw, introspective style.

Over a soulful, hard-hitting beat, Scarface confronts the struggles of his career, his survival in the rap game, and the weight of his past. The track’s title is fitting, as it reflects Face’s resilience and his status as one of the few authentic voices in Hip Hop. “Look Me In My Eyes” is both a statement and a personal reflection, proving that even in a later stage of his career, Scarface was still delivering some of the best material in the game.

11. Money And The Power (1991)

“Deep in the heart of South Park lurks a stalker / S.A. fool, native Houston South Parker / Born and brought up to be a heartless motherf***** / No one else to blame, f*** it blame it on my mother…”

“Money And The Power” is a standout track from Scarface’s debut Mr. Scarface Is Back, an album that proved Scarface could hold his own outside of the Geto Boys. From the very first listen, it’s clear this was no ordinary debut—Scarface brought his signature depth and lyricism right out of the gate.

On this track, Scarface reflects on the corrupting influence of money and power, two themes that would become a constant throughout his career. His gritty, street-smart delivery sets the tone, while the production provides a perfect backdrop to his reflections on the dark side of success.

Considered one of the best joints from Mr. Scarface Is Back, “Money And The Power” demonstrates Scarface’s ability to craft a compelling narrative while offering an unflinching look at the consequences of wealth and ambition. It’s no surprise that the album remains a top pick for many Hip Hop enthusiasts, including Nas, who counts it among his favorites.

10. Smile ft 2Pac (1997)

“Now as I open up my story / With the blaze of your blunts / And you can picture thoughts slowly / Up on phrases I wrote / And I can walk you through the days that I done / I often wish that I could save everyone / But I’m a dreamer…” 

“Smile,” featuring 2Pac, arrived just months after the tragic death of Tupac Shakur, and it quickly became one of Scarface’s most popular and impactful tracks. Released as part of The Untouchable in 1997, it became the centerpiece of the album, which went platinum in part due to the strength of this emotional anthem.

The song captures the essence of Tupac’s reflective and complex spirit, offering an intimate look at his mindset, personal struggles, and philosophy on life. As a posthumous farewell of sorts, 2Pac’s verse is a poignant and raw reminder of his power as a storyteller. Scarface’s verse complements Tupac’s, with both artists exploring themes of survival, pain, and resilience.

“Smile” marked a high point in Scarface’s career while also serving as one of the most iconic tributes to Tupac. It’s a haunting, reflective track that not only highlights the personal bonds between these two legends but also remains a timeless moment in Hip Hop history.

9. No Tears (1994)

“Now the funeral is over, and all the tears are dried up / N***** hanging tape on the cut getting fired up / Looking for the n**** who pulled his pistol on my homie / An eye for an eye, so now your life is what you owe me…”

“No Tears” is one of the standout tracks from Scarface’s The Diary. The song is a somber reflection on murder, revenge, and the emotional toll of living in a violent world. It’s a vivid example of Scarface’s storytelling prowess, with lyrics that cut through the surface and dig deep into the darkness of his experiences.

The track is deeply personal, stemming from a tragic real-life event. In a 2013 interview with Complex, Scarface revealed that the song was inspired by the murder of a close friend in 1992, an event that left him grappling with feelings of loss and anger. The track’s mournful tone and grim lyrics mirror the pain of those involved, capturing the weight of a life marked by violence.

With “No Tears,” Scarface channels his raw emotion and pain into a haunting narrative, making it a defining moment on The Diary. It highlights his skill in transforming personal tragedy into powerful, thought-provoking music.

8. Mr Scarface (1991)

“I play a game but the game ain’t roulette / Slangin ‘caine is the thang and I bet / That there’s a lot of wannabe Scarfaces / I’ve heard the name in ninety-nine different places…” 

“Mr. Scarface,” the opening track from Mr. Scarface Is Back, is Scarface’s unapologetic introduction to his solo career. Drawing on themes of crime and violence, it’s a natural continuation of his previous work with the Geto Boys, particularly their track “Scarface” from Grip It! On That Other Level. The song is brimming with the grim realities of street life, but Scarface adds his signature introspection, turning the raw material of his environment into an iconic moment in hip-hop.

Laced with samples from the classic Al Pacino film Scarface, the track’s cinematic qualities elevate its gritty narrative, blending the lines between Scarface the character and Scarface the rapper. Scarface reflected that the inspiration for the song came from real-life experiences, even before he’d seen the movie that would cement his persona in the Hip Hop world.

This song doesn’t reinvent the wheel but still remains a staple in his catalog, offering a powerful and lasting snapshot of the mindset that would define his career. It’s a straight-up declaration of Scarface’s place in the rap game, delivered with chilling precision.

7. In Between Us ft Nas & Tanya Herron (2002)

“I know you hate me, don’t you / I bet you sit and wish my time never came / You probably rather see me die in the game / You probably rather see me die in a plane Well y’all see me up on top of my dough…”

“In Between Us” is a highlight from Scarface’s The Fix, a standout album in his catalog, and a reflection of his consistency. This track features an effortless collaboration with Nas and the soulful Tanya Herron, whose hook adds depth to the song’s emotional weight. Scarface and Nas trade verses about the complexities of success, reflecting on the constant pressures that come with being at the top. Both emcees deliver introspective lines that reveal their shared experiences in the game.

Nas’s verse stands out, as always, but Scarface holds his own, delivering real-world struggles mixed with personal reflection. The track’s smooth, laid-back production allows both artists to shine, with Tanya Herron’s vocals adding an extra layer of melancholy to the mood. The song’s candid exploration of fame and its toll makes it a perfect example of The Fix’s mature, thought-provoking style. This collaboration proves that Scarface and Nas are masters at capturing the emotional depth of the rap game.

6. Diary Of A Mad Man (1991)

“Dear Diary, I’m having a little problem / I can’t make it by myself maybe you can help me solve em / I’m confused and I don’t know what to do / I’m hoping you can help me cause there’s no one else to talk to / I want to die, but it ain’t for me / I try to talk to my dad, but my old man ignores me / He says I’m delirious / And I drink too much, so he doesn’t take me serious / But little does he know I’m really losing it / I got a head, but ain’t no screws in it…”

This is Scarface at his most unguarded—no persona, no myth-building, just uncut vulnerability bleeding over a haunting beat. “Diary of a Mad Man” pulls listeners deep into a mental spiral, where violent imagery shares space with childhood trauma, broken family ties, and suicidal ideation. It’s not about shock value; it’s about truth. Scarface doesn’t glorify anything here—he’s documenting emotional collapse in real time, and it’s hard to look away.

There’s a line in the first verse—“I got a head but ain’t no screws in it”—that tells you everything. The track is drenched in paranoia and pain, and yet it’s delivered with an almost clinical calmness, making the unease cut even deeper. The production is cold and minimal, letting every word ring out.

At just 20 years old when he wrote it, Face turned a personal low into a track that still resonates decades later. “Diary of a Mad Man” is one of the rawest, most emotionally exposed moments in Mr. Scarface Is Back—a chilling benchmark in Hip Hop’s exploration of mental anguish and vulnerability.

5. Hand of the Dead Body (feat. Ice Cube & Devin the Dude) (1994)

“We got this whole motherf***** on a mission / Now the whole entire world’s gotta try to come up with a quick decision / They claim we threats to society / And now they calling on the government to try and make somebody quiet / For the bullsh** they done to me / Gangsta Nip, Spice-1 or 2Pac never gave a gun to me…”

“Hand of the Dead Body” is Scarface in full combat mode—focused, furious, and unflinchingly clear-eyed. From The Diary, arguably his finest solo album, this standout track sees Face teaming up with Ice Cube and Devin the Dude for a blistering takedown of media hypocrisy, political scapegoating, and moral panic.

Scarface opens the song with a calm but surgical verse, dissecting the way politicians and pundits point fingers at rap instead of the real rot in America’s institutions. Then Ice Cube follows up with a venomous second verse, matching Face’s intensity and sharpening the track’s teeth. These two were among the most politically engaged voices in ‘90s rap, and here, they’re fully aligned in both purpose and power.

Devin the Dude’s hook—laid-back but haunting—floats above the storm with eerie calm. His voice provides a subtle counterbalance, giving the track a melodic spine while Face and Cube deliver the punches.

There’s no posturing here, no wasted lines. Just two elite lyricists calling it exactly how they see it, backed by a slow, creeping beat that feels like it’s dragging the truth into the light. Decades later, it still hits like a warning.

4. On My Block (2002)

“Every day it’s been the same old thang on my block / You either working or you slanging cocaine on my block / You had to hustle, cause that’s how we was raised on my block / And you stayed on your hop until you made you a knot…”

“On My Block” is Scarface at his most nostalgic, most reflective, and maybe even most joyful. There’s no gritty revenge tale or dark rumination here—just a vivid, soulful ode to the neighborhood that raised him. As the lead single from The Fix, one of the most revered albums in his catalog, this track marries a wistful piano loop sampled from Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s “Be Real Black for Me” with Face’s steady, warm-hearted storytelling.

It’s a celebration of home, not in the flashy, exaggerated sense that hip hop sometimes leans toward, but in the deeply personal way that only Scarface can pull off. He walks us through Southside Houston with loving detail: the characters, the codes, the tragedies and the loyalty. “Every block got a story to tell,” he says—and in three minutes, he makes you feel like you lived it too.

The production from The Hitmen is minimalist but effective—clean drums, soulful keys, and a loop that sticks to your ribs. But as always, it’s Scarface’s voice and pen that elevate the track. His delivery is calm, but there’s a subtle ache beneath the surface. He’s not just reminiscing—he’s documenting. And there’s real weight to that.

“On My Block” might not be his most technically ambitious song, but it’s one of the easiest to love. It’s proof that sometimes the deepest impact comes from simplicity, memory, and truth. Scarface didn’t just put Houston on the map—he made the whole country feel like they knew his corner of it.

3. Now I Feel Ya (1993)

“A new day, brings a new problem to a brother / And all I gots ta say is thank god for my mother / Cause without my mommy dear my life would’ve been joke / Either locked up playin’ dead and still slangin’ dope but nope / The lord he had a plan for me / And with his help, my mother made a man of me…”

There’s vulnerability, and then there’s “Now I Feel Ya.” At over seven minutes, this standout from The World Is Yours finds Scarface pulling his entire soul out and laying it on tape. The production is low-tempo and introspective, the kind of beat that doesn’t rush anything—it just gives him space. And Scarface uses every second of it.

The song reads like a letter to everyone who shaped him—his mother, his father, his friends, his kids, his city. He talks about growing up too fast, learning lessons the hard way, figuring out what really matters. There’s no hook to break up the weight—just verse after verse of raw self-examination. He reflects on the pressures of fatherhood, the loss of innocence, the love he didn’t know how to express. It’s a song that matures as it plays, the same way Face matured while writing it.

What makes this track stand so tall in his catalog is how stripped of ego it is. There’s no fronting, no braggadocio. Just a young man, trying to make peace with his past and make sense of his future. And for fans who’d already come to Scarface for the darkness and depth, this was something else—light, however faint, peeking through the shadows.

“Now I Feel Ya” doesn’t get by on replay value alone. It’s a confessional, a moment of clarity, a necessary pause in a discography filled with street tension. It might not be his most iconic track, but it’s one of his most human.

2. I Seen A Man Die (1994)

“And can’t nobody change this / It’s nineteen-ninety-four and we up against the same sh** / I never understood why / I could never see a man cry, til I seen a man die…”

If The Diary is Scarface’s masterwork, then “I Seen a Man Die” is its beating, haunted heart. Released in 1994, the track marked a subtle but seismic shift in rap’s tone. Where others bragged, Scarface mourned. Where others flaunted survival, he questioned what survival even meant. This wasn’t just a radio single—it was an existential crisis laid bare over a Mike Dean and N.O. Joe production that sounds like something from a funeral procession slowed to a crawl.

The track follows a man newly released from prison who swears he’s leaving the street life behind—only to end up dead before redemption ever becomes a possibility. The verses are delivered with Scarface’s signature gravity, part narrator, part prophet. He doesn’t just rap about the cycle of violence and poverty—he sounds like someone who’s been swallowed by it, clawed his way out, and came back to tell you exactly what it looks like inside.

Scarface has said that when he first listened to the track in the studio, high and unsure of what he’d just made, he quickly realized he was sitting on something “groundbreaking.” He wasn’t wrong. “I Seen a Man Die” still lands like a gut punch, especially in a genre that too often glamorizes the very pain Scarface is trying to unpack.

It remains one of his most recognizable songs, not because it chases attention, but because it commands it. Scarface didn’t make rap for the charts—he made it for those staring into the same darkness he was.

1. A Minute To Pray And A Second To Die (1991)

“Life goes on in the streets of my hood when you die / But some cry, and gets by, while others choose to wonder why…” 

In under five minutes, Scarface managed to sketch a cinematic morality tale so vivid it practically unspools like celluloid. “A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die,” the lead single from Mr. Scarface Is Back, is as close to a debut mission statement as it gets. It’s all there: the weight of paranoia, the inevitability of violence, the undertow of grief, and above all, the precision of Scarface’s pen. If you’re looking for the moment where he stamped himself as one of rap’s greatest storytellers, this is it.

Built around the aching core of Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues,” the instrumental doesn’t just set the mood—it drapes the track in a mournful fog, giving Scarface’s voice all the room it needs to unfold a tale of vengeance and demise. The storytelling is tight and brutal. A man survives a drive-by, plots his retaliation, and dies by the same code he lived by. There’s no redemption arc, no glamour, just consequences.

Scarface once described this song as his first real storytelling record, the one that earned him the label of “narrative MC.” And he’s right to claim it as a turning point. In its structure and detail, you can hear the prototype for everything from 2Pac’s “Shorty Wanna Be a Thug” to Kendrick Lamar’s “Sing About Me.”

But the power of “A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die” isn’t in its influence—it’s in how timeless it feels. Over 30 years later, the desperation in his voice still lands with full force. It’s not just a great rap song. It’s a lesson in how to tell the truth without apology, how to translate the chaos of the street into poetry. And it still hits just as hard today.

Also read: 25 Essential Houston Hip Hop Albums

25 Essential Houston Hip Hop Albums