They've been slammed as vile, negative, loc'ed and all that, but the Geto Boys should really be hailed as masters of the reality-rap form. While others merely paint aural portraits, the Geto Boys brilliantly transform private struggles into gritty public spectacles.

Brad "Scarface" Jordan is the group's hardcore center. Two years ago he unleashed a solo album, Mr. Scarface Is Back. Its poetics of paranoia kept listeners on the edge of panic; its rhymes pumped fear into hearts everywhere. Now comes The World Is Yours, which isn't always as gripping. The psychosis expressed in songs by Cypress Hill (who bragged of being "insane in the brain") or Onyx (who declared a "mad-face invasion") and the grim reefer tales from The Chronic far surpass the storytelling on much of Yours.

From the start the album missteps. Choking on indo smoke, Scarface reveals that he's interested in following in the blunted footprints of Dr. Dre. That lowers his credibility somewhat. Then he dives into "Lettin' 'Em Know," running his sandpapery pipes over a loopy, hop-and-drop soundscape. But his words don't dig deep enough. After laying out his street credentials, he advises punks he "ain't that nigga you should try with." This sort of boast is too damn conventional, even boring.

Scarface proves more engaging when he recounts a stoned-out afternoon on the bricks. Over a track made of slaphappy bass, tinkling keyboards and relaxed drums, he describes a frosty scene of "hangin' in the 'hood just shootin' the breeze," of "trippin' on the hoochies rollin' by in their rides," of "guzzlin' up 40s of cold St. Ides." Shifting from homeboy camaraderie to family ties, Scarface reveals a sensitive side in "Now I Feel Ya." He speaks lovingly of his mom, stepdad, grandmother and young son.

But he's still tormented. In "The Wall," the most brilliant cut on The World Is Yours, he reveals why. In the best Geto Boys style, the song is an examination of fatal inner thoughts. Here, Scarface (in fact, a real-life manic-depressive) commits suicide, the grisly climax of an existence filled with turmoil and characterized by a pitched battle between his two selves ("One nigga too smart, the other too damn hard"). The pair meet, and when a tussle ensues, one shoots the other. It's the ultimate gangsta tale rooted in a deep, internal reality. (RS 671)

HAVELOCK NELSON