Twenty years ago today (Oct. 18) Houston rapper Scarface raised the stakes in hip hop with the release of his third album, The Diary.
Even after more than 25 years in hip hop, countless artists continue to credit Face as one of their most prominent influences for his authoritative delivery and strong subject matter. One of those MCs is none other than one half of Run the Jewels, Killer Mike.
"Scarface The Diary is the preeminent rap album that’s gangster, social, worldly conscious and spiritual,” the ATL based rapper said of the album, which received the coveted five mic rating in The Source.
Mike also praised the 5th Ward rapper’s ability to never stray from the top of his game even after a career that has spanned close to three decades, a feat that he says squashes any debate about who is the greatest rapper of all time.
“To me if you’re talking about a record that’s better than The Diary then you’re only talking about another Scarface record,” Killer Mike exclaimed. ”I believe that when you talk about Scarface, in a 27 year rap career of no wack records or no wack albums for 27 years, you’re talking about the greatest rapper of all time, no argument, no opinion of who your top three, [or] top five is. ’Til your top three, top five has a 27 year career with no wack records, your top five is always number two to him. Scarface is the greatest of all time.”
See Killer Mike talk more about hip hop in the video below.

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