The best rapper from all 50 states

Texas

Artist – Scarface

Years Active – 1980s-Present

Notable Album – Mr. Scareface is Back

Sample Rhyme:

“Our lifestyles be close captained

Addicted to fatal attractions

Pictures of actions be played back

In the midst of mashin’

No fairy tales for this young black male

Some see me stranded in this land of hell, jail and crack sales.”

—

In the waning years of the 80s and start of the 90s, Houston’s Geto Boys and later Scarface carved out their own piece of the rap pie between the East Coast and West Coast rivalry. Scarface was among the first representatives of southern rap, and as such played a tremendous part in the development of the subgenre in the decades to come.

More than any song he recorded, Scarface’s legacy will be his leadership in those early years in Houston and his ability to bridge the divide between East and West. He would earn national notoriety and, eventually, become the lead in Def Jam’s southern division. Acting in that capacity, he signed Ludacris in 1999.

Unlike other rappers who reached his level, Scarface never strayed far from his Houston roots, releasing music irregularly and occasionally teaming up with the Insane Clown Posse for their Gathering of the Juggalos.

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