My Homies Part 2 [PA] (CD - 2006)

In 2006's MY HOMIES PART 2, Southern gangsta rapper Scarface blends violent ghetto tales like "Southern Nigga" with smartly told vignettes like "My Life," his reunion with the Geto Boys. Scarface may still be too raw for prime time, but when he's got cuts of the caliber of "Definition of Real," his collaboration with Ice-T, and "Never Snitch," where he partners with The Game, it doesn't matter.

Scarface's two-disc opus MY HOMIES keeps an unswerving eye on something too many rappers tend to ignore: the music. That's not to say that his lyrical and verbal skills are anything less than first-rate, but underneath the raps there's a real musicality at work, which serves to not only support, but enhance Scarface's observations about modern-day urban life. Irresistible analog synth hooks, simple-but-arresting rhythm tracks, and a sense of arrangement that is both economical and effective; these are the tools that Scarface uses to realize his vision. On the thirty cuts contained here, he examines the world he sees around him, the hustlers, the violence and the emotional turmoil, with a real sense of empathy. minimize