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Scarface, one of Hip-Hop’s most influential storytellers, recently sat down with Shannon Sharpe for a raw and revealing interview that peeled back the layers of his life, career, and mental battles. The legendary rapper gave fans not only a trip through his musical legacy but also an unflinching look into the pain and challenges that shaped his art.
The interview opened with Scarface taking Sharpe and the audience on a musical journey. Backed by a live band, he broke down the writing and production process behind some of his most iconic songs, including “Mary Jane,” “Guess Who’s Back,” “My Block,” “I Seen A Man Die,” “Smile,” and “This Can’t Be Life.” These records, which defined different eras of his career, showcased the depth of Scarface’s artistry and how his personal struggles bled into his music.
Scarface revealed that his Hip-Hop journey began when he was just 14 years old. Before rapping, he started out as a DJ, sharpening his love for music behind the turntables. But beyond the music, Scarface’s personal story took center stage in the conversation.
He opened up about growing up in a household defined by generational closeness — his grandmother, mother, and himself each separated by only 21 years. Despite his accomplishments, Scarface admitted that he struggles to truly appreciate them. For him, the constant feeling of running out of time looms heavy. “Time is the one thing you can’t get back,” he said, admitting that while he doesn’t want to waste it, he sometimes feels ungrateful for not being able to enjoy what he’s already achieved.
The rapper also reflected on how quickly he was forced to grow up. Scarface started smoking and drinking at a young age and even lived alone in his own apartment at just 16 years old — a detail he confirmed by calling his mother during the interview. By 11 or 12, he was institutionalized for being manic depressive with suicidal tendencies. Scarface revealed that he cut his wrists, overdosed multiple times, and even smoked crack for the first time at that age in 1983. “I never got a chance to be a kid,” he said, acknowledging that his childhood was stripped away far too early.
That premature adulthood extended into the streets. Scarface recalled close brushes with death, including a chilling moment when he left a convenience store just before it was robbed and shot up, leaving the owner dead. Death, he admitted, has always been close to him — something he now regrets writing about so often in his music because it feels even nearer in his life today.
Scarface also opened up about family and fatherhood. He never knew his biological father, who was killed when Scarface was just seven years old. He discovered through newspaper clippings that his father had been shot through a door during an argument at a woman’s house. For Scarface, it was his stepfather, Willie Terry, who became his real father figure. Though he was the “weed man,” Terry instilled discipline, hustle, and responsibility into Scarface, lessons that stuck with him until Terry’s passing.
The conversation revealed another layer of isolation in Scarface’s life. He said that he never had true friends and leaned on his music as an outlet for thoughts and emotions he couldn’t share with anyone. His longest friendship, he revealed, ended recently when his friend died of a heart attack. In school, Scarface admitted, he never fit in. The classroom bored him — the only thing that excited him was playing football, where he excelled as a running back in his youth.
Scarface’s sit-down with Shannon Sharpe wasn’t just another interview — it was a confession. It highlighted the pain behind his pen, the losses that fueled his perspective, and the constant battle between his accomplishments and his regrets. More than anything, it showed why Scarface remains one of Hip-Hop’s most profound voices: he’s never been afraid to bare his truth, no matter how heavy it is.
Checkout the full interview below.
