The one piece of advice Jay-Z took from ‘Scarface’
Jay-Z has influenced music, culture and the world in a number of ways. But what’s influenced Hova? Well, one source is the 1983 American crime drama film, Scarface.
In an interview with NPR back in 2010, Jay-Z spoke about his journey from the Brooklyn projects to hip hop fame, and how Scarface impacted his generation’s approach to street life.
When he was a teenager, Jay-Z (real name Shawn Corey Carter) sold crack cocaine. Speaking about how he got into dealing, the rapper said “I knew a friend who knew a friend and – you know, he made an introduction”. For Jay, drugs were simply part of the scene where he was from.
He explained further that dealing was like a legitimate business. “We had a conversation almost like a job interview”, Jay said about his first meeting with the dealer who would hire him. “It was almost these rules of how to do it, and how not to get high on your own supply, and how to be a man of principle and of your word, and dealing with people”.
“It was like this advice as if it was a Fortune 500 job, you know, except it was crack cocaine”, he added.
During the interview, Jay was asked if he followed the Scarface advice about not getting high on your own supply, a line uttered by Elvira Hancock when giving advice to the main character, Tony Montana. Jay confirmed that he did get high on his own supply, but he also spoke about Scarface’s huge effect on his generation.
“Strangely enough, that movie about, you know, all this violence and gore was like, one of the biggest things to impact our generation”, he said.
Scarface depicts the rapid rise and fall of drug kingpin in Florida. It’s known for its bloody scenes, strong language, and weapon use. For Jay, the film was a kind of code of conduct for young dealers in the real world – a warning about how to behave. He does admit though, that glamorising the film meant its message was lost on some people: “Not everyone listened, you know. It’s a very difficult thing to do”.
Jay-Z didn’t always have his wisdom. He was only a teenager when he was selling crack, and he recognised that he struggled to see the damage he was doing to himself and his community.
“At 14/15 years old, you know, you’re thinking about – to be honest with you, you’re thinking about sneakers, or you’re thinking about some sort of relief from all the pain you feeling”, he said. “You’re thinking about buying some food for the house. You’re thinking about paying the extra light bill […] So at that age, you’re not thinking about the destruction that you’re causing your own community.”
Fortunately for Jay, he didn’t go the same way as Tony Montana. He did have “one foot in and one foot out” of the drug game for a while when he was making music – selling crack cocaine was simply more lucrative than making demos. But, he came to a point where he thought “I’m just going to give this music a try. I’m going to give it 100 percent, and just forget everything that I’m doing”.
Not long after, rap became Jay’s hustle, not pushing.
And although Scarface influenced Jay at a particularly dangerous moment in his life, it gave him a discipline that he carried over into his music and empire. Every dog really does get its day.