Scarface has always scared the shit out of me, particularly in the video for the Geto Boys’ classic, “Mind’s Playin’ Tricks on Me,” and on that album cover where he’s being rushed to the hospital…or maybe that was Bushwick Bill, the Boys’ pint-sized bundle of terror. Scarface has always been tough as nails, spitting out acidic rhymes with all the remorse of a serial killer; one of the few rappers who didn’t need to hide behind the façade of his “crew,” always opting to take out the enemy on his own, drink his blood, and dispose of the body bag himself.

On his latest, Last of a Dying Breed, Scarface does what his does best, intimidate whack-ass phonies, boast about how tough he is, and threaten people. And in his case, it’s a formula that works. Cuts like the title track, “Sorry 4 What?” and “Conspiracy Theory” in particular expound on sordid tales of Midwestern street life, true slices of American pie that Don McLean might choose to stay away from if he knew a thing or two about a thing or two.

It seems unlikely that ‘Face will accumulate any new fans with this release, as uncompromising a record as it is, opting instead to preach to the converted. In that respect, he has succeeded. At least we can count on old Scarface to carry the respectable Rap-A-Lot label into the future. Bless his cold, cold heart.