In the summer of 1996, Tupac was not only recording war songs. According to common accounts, in August-just weeks before his death-he recorded his verse for a calm, reflective track that hardly seemed to fit the picture of 1996 as a year of war. Smile, a song by Southern rapper Scarface featuring singer Johnny P, was a call to smile in spite of everything.
The Defining Voice of Southern Rap
Brad Terrence Jordan, born November 9, 1970, in Houston, Texas, was-as Scarface-the defining voice of nineties Southern rap. With the Geto Boys and on solo albums for Rap-A-Lot Records, he spoke of paranoia, depression, and violence. Tupac admired this openness. Scarface was not a member of Tupac’s circle in Los Angeles, but lists of the artists Tupac worked with, which merely name him in passing, hardly do justice to this connection.
A Hit Five Months Later
On February 13, 1997, Smile was released as a single. The track was produced by Scarface, Mike Dean, and Tone Capone. On March 11, 1997, Scarface’s album The Untouchable followed. By that point, Tupac had already been dead for five months. The single climbed to No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold. To this day, the track remains Scarface’s most successful song-and one of the last Tupac recorded during his lifetime.
A Spot on the Guest List for “One Nation”
Even during his lifetime, Tupac had already planned for Scarface to take part in a larger endeavor. According to reports, he was on the guest list for the One Nation project, with which Tupac intended to bring together rappers from the East Coast, the West Coast, and the South (see His Companies).
After Tupac’s death, Scarface’s label Rap-A-Lot became a port of call for several of his companions: Big Syke released a solo album there in 2002, and the Outlawz put out Neva Surrenda: The Rap-A-Lot Sessions that same year. In addition, a remix of Homies & Thuggs featuring Master P and Tupac appeared on Scarface’s 1998 album My Homies. An overview of all guest appearances can be found under Guest Appearances and Features.