WORLD IS YOURS, THE

Producers: James Smith, John Bido, Brad "Scarface" Jordan, N.O. Joe. Recorded at Digital Services, Jungle Style and Scarface Studios, Houston, Texas. Personnel: Scarface (vocals). Recording information: Digital Services, Houston, TX; Jungle Style & Scarface Studios, Houston, TX. Scarface once again quickly follows a Geto Boys album, Till Death Do Us Part, with a solo release, The World Is Yours, just as he'd done two years earlier with his brilliant solo debut, Mr. Scarface Is Back. The circumstances are otherwise quite different, though. Scarface had been on a roll in 1991: fresh off the breakthrough success of "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" and its similarly well-received Geto Boys album, We Can't Be Stopped, he unveiled a cinematic, somewhat conceptual solo debut that made him a bona fide national superstar. Furthermore, much changed within the rap world between 1991-1993, specifically the end of free-for-all sampling and the widespread proliferation of gangsta rap. Scarface thus delivers a follow-up that's a huge leap forward from his debut, both in terms of production and rhetoric. He works here mostly with producer N.O. Joe, who crafts a G-funk style distinctly modeled after the West Coast sounds of the moment ? la The Chronic, and he favors personally introspective rhymes rather than his heedful narratives of the past. The heartfelt seven-and-a-half-minute "Now I Feel Ya" showcases this new lyrical approach best, as Scarface rhymes at one point about his new son and how in turn he's had to alter his lifestyle. The significant changes Scarface has made here on The World Is Yours showcase his unwillingness to revel in the past, as glorious as his past may have been, yet they at the same time may frustrate fans of his early work, as his new style moves him further into the gangsta rap mainstream. ~ Jason Birchmeier