How Jay-Z literally saved Scarface’s life: “I was fucking sick as a dog”
Jay-Z and Scarface have a long history together. The pair have collaborated numerous times over the years, including ‘This Can’t Be Life’ from The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, ‘Guess Who’s Back’ from The Fix, and ‘Some How Some Way’ from The Blueprint 2. The pair may have solid chemistry together on wax, but they go way deeper than that.
Facemob has gone as far as saying that Hov saved his life from a literal standpoint. Scarface contracted COVID-19 in March 2020 and suffered severe health issues. The virus attacked his lungs and kidneys, forcing his son, Christopher Jordan, to donate his kidney at the Texas Medical Center.
He was in a life-threatening situation at the time, but it was help from the likes of Jay that played a part in keeping him alive. “Remember when I caught the COVID and kidney failure and all that? Yeah, Jay-Z chucked me a lifeline,” he said on Club Shay Shay. “DJ Khaled chucked me a lifeline, so can’t nobody tell me shit about Jay-Z and DJ Khaled because they chucked me a lifeline. I’m thankful. I wasn’t working. So, shoutout to Hov and DJ Khaled. [Jay-Z] do that big brother shit, you know?”
Scarface was once asked about his relationship with Jay-Z, giving him his flowers for his role in hip-hop while touching on how much he’s helped him. “Oh, man, I still got a relationship with Hov … Jay-Z is a keeper of the culture, you know?” he told Vibe. “I got a lot of respect for that, dude. Jay-Z came and did some shit for me that only a friend would do, so I have the utmost respect for Jay-Z.
“Matter of fact, let’s just call him Shawn Carter from here on out because he made a Shawn Carter move, you know what I mean? I was fucking sick as a dog, and Jay-Z made a move for me that saved my life. ‘Cause I couldn’t move. So, shouts out to Shawn Carter, keeper of the culture.”
Jay-Z has been known to help people without announcing it to the world. After Scarface thanked Hov publicly, his mother-in-law, Tina Knowles, praised him for being a loyal friend and a generally thoughtful human being. “People really have no idea what Jay-Z does on the regular, to help others!” she said. “Quietly telling no one about it! I’m always in awe of his kindness and generosity!!
“His often and unwavering willingness to give back to other [artists] to move the culture forward! The info about any of this has never come from his lips. That is why he is blessed. Sooo happy that our Houston brother, the genius that is Scarface, is doing well.”
Their collaborations during the early 2000s led to a lifelong friendship. Hov will always look out for those who have been loyal to him, giving Scarface support when he needed it most. It was an example of Jay using his $2.6 billion net worth for something personal to him, which in turn kept one of the rap greats alive and healthy.