Scarface: Balls And My Word : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Scarface's powerful last album, 2002's The Fix, was all about penitence and redemption. That's not on the agenda here. Apart from the chilling "Make Your Peace," on which he commits suicide to gain perspective on his own life, Balls and My Word -- mostly recorded prior to The Fix -- is a gleeful, carefree thug romp by comparison. "I was a Geto Boy, long before the rap group existed," Face boasts on the excellent "On My Grind," which bubbles with liquid keys and military snares. He's assisted by some game guests: Bun B, who serves up rapid-fire polysyllabic rhymes on "Bitch Nigga," and Devin the Dude, who croons the comical hook on "Only Your Mother." It's not all about good friends, though. On "Dirty Money," Face takes a little swipe at the rap aristocracy: "Money ain't a thing to a nigga out here rapping/But to a nigga out there capping?" (Once a hustler, always a hustler.) "Dirty Money" also warns you to choose your partners wisely: "Niggas run out of freedom/Niggas start to sing." And loose lips sink good moods.

JON CARAMANICA
(From RS 924, June 12, 2003)