Scarface

The Rap-A-Lot label been known to drop more than their fair share of unnecessary compilations and remix albums, most with shoddy packaging. Fortunately The Best of Scarface is a worthwhile effort in spite of the lousy booklet -- the liner notes look like a hasty word.doc dump -- and the packaging not mentioning that this 37-track overview is done mixtape style. You want the full version of the early hit "Money and the Power"? The slice you get here is just over a minute. You want all the best Scarface tracks to mix and burn on your own comps? All the songs here are blended together, quite skillfully actually, not that the liner notes say by who, although prolific Houston producer Mike Dean does get a remastering credit. The rapper's most recent output is widely ignored with the comp focusing mostly on pre-2002 music, and the interludes aren't from the man himself but Al Pacino, as in Scarface the movie. Know what you're in for and this rough and ragged bullet train mix through the man's early catalog is worth considering, especially for hardcore fans. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide