Diary of a Madman: The Geto Boys, Life, Death, and the Roots of Southern Rap
by
Brad "Scarface" Jordan with
Benjamin Meadows-Ingram
Dey Street Books
Trade Paperback
Reviewed by
Brent Sanders
Autobiographies
are dicey, at best. They tend to lapse into fevered, self-serving
apologia, or bonehead “and then I...” recitation.
The best turn into salient meditations on life choices and paths. Such books are rare.
Brad
Jordan, better known as “Scarface”, a pivotal member of the pioneering
hip-hop group the Geto Boys, and later a successful solo artist, has
written an autobiography that asks no favors, and makes no apologies.
It’s a fascinating account of his evolution as an artist, a businessman,
and a human being.
Lyrically,
the Geto Boys were known for their violent imagery. But Jordan, with
his tendency to introspection and his easy, matter-of-fact delivery,
gave them a dimension other hip-hop groups did not possess. The
braggadocio was thickly applied, but there was an element of
unpredictability, even self-doubt, that gave it a depth that transcended
the standard “ho/glock/bitch” mentality that the genre too often passes
off as “real”.
Digging
into his chaotic childhood, where music and writing provided an outlet
for a restless mind, Jordan takes us into his adolescence, and his
graduation from low-level drug dealer to hip-hop artist, signed to
James Prince’s Rap-A-Lot Records. He thought he was going in with his
own group, but Prince connected him with a couple of other local
rappers, Willie Dee and Bushwick Bill, to form the seminal band.
He
recounts the years in chronological order, always using his music as a
touchstone. He touches on his relationships with other rappers and
producers, including Ice Cube, Chuck D, and even a young Kanye West, one
of the producers on “The Fix”, his 2002 album, considered a high water
mark of the genre.
We
learn that he’s a recalcitrant music junkie, with Pink Floyd being a
particular favorite, and that he once paid a club DJ to play nothing but
Van Morrison all night. He recounts honestly his business dealings,
including his stint as the President of Def Jam South records, and the
twisted loyalties that come with independent rap labels and street level
entrepreneurs like Prince, with whom he has a complicated history.
Humorous
anecdotes, some darkly so, are liberally applied, often with the
jarring and poignant remembrances of friends passed away. But his calm
acceptance and willingness to confront the confusion of his life are
what lifts this book above the standard, salacious tell-all hustle of
most musical biographies.
Like
his vocal approach, the writing here is smooth and efficient, with a
rapper’s propensity for cramming a lot of information into a few
sentences. And rather than try to reconcile the contradictions in his
life, Jordan embraces them.
Recommended Reading Soundtrack:
1. Mind of a Lunatic (Geto Boys)
2. Mind Playin’ Tricks on Me (Geto Boys)
3. Diary of a Madman
4.. A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die
5. I’m Dead 6. Six Feet Deep (Geto Boys)
7. No Tears
8. I Seen a Man Die 9. Hand of the Dead Body 1
10. The World is a Ghetto (Geto Boys)
11. Mary Jane
12. Last of a Dying Breed
That’s a good start. There's a lot more where that came from.
