Scarface on why he is “disgusted” with the music industry
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Scarface on why he is "disgusted" with the music industry

In an in-depth interview with hiphopdx, Geto Boys icon Scarface has recently revealed why he is so utterly “disgusted” with the music industry’s current state and how it treats artists. Twenty years on from the release of his 2002 album The Fix, the Texas rapper has detailed how the industry is different now and why he’s happy to no longer be in it.

As the star of a new Rock The Bells series, the rapper has recently been speaking about his critically acclaimed debut album, The Fix detailing: his relationship with the record label that released it, the amount of creative licence he had while making it and how much it cost to record.

Scarface (real name Bradley Jordan) notes how, as the President of Def Jam South, an offshoot of the renowned label Def Jam, he was provided with a healthy budget to record the album. With regard to his funding, Jordan stated, “They gave me a lot of money to do the record, so I had an extensive budget. I could buy tracks from whoever the f*ck I wanted to buy tracks from. Def Jam had these people that went around like realtors. They called them ‘beat brokers.’”

While talking about wanting to remain “comfortable” during the recording process, the rapper disclosed, “I don’t like nobody in the studio with me when I’m producing or when I’m rapping; I don’t want the distraction,” he said. “I don’t want you f*cking talking. I don’t want you on your phone. I don’t want you recording. I want you to get the f*ck out.” Despite his evident passion for rap and the creative process, the 51-year-old artist is “over it”, and although he has his upcoming 2022 tour, including an appearance at the inaugural ‘Rock The Bells Festival’ on August 6 and a few dates on his ‘The Farewell Tour’, Jordan says he is ready to retire.

In a tirade against the industry and streaming platforms, the rapper revealed, ”I just don’t feel like we are welcome in our own genre of music anymore…you can stream my album for pennies, for less than a penny, stream my songs for less than a penny, and it cost me so much money to make this song, now you can listen to it for under a penny. That’s some bullsh*t to me.” The rapper made sure to hit home and clarify he was not blaming artists as he vocalised, “the music industry is currently cultivating and pouring money into this. It’s all about the streaming.”

Jordan continued to show his disdain for the current system, saying he’s “disgusted” and explained that he can no longer make a living off of his music, so has decided he will take a back seat in 2023. When asked what he would do during his retirement, the artist responded, “I’ma play golf and get fat.” He continued: “I’m going to die early anyway. Man, we old now. It’s time to get out the way. It’s time to go.” Scarface announced his retirement in May along with the schedule for the 32-date ‘Farewell Tour’ for which tickets are still available.

You can watch his full interview with Rock The Bells in the video below.