Brad “Scarface” Jordan has emerged as an uncontested legend in Hip-Hop and one of the pioneers of the Southern sound. After 29 years, he is still actively engaged in the Rap community. From the release of his first solo album, in 1991, Mr Scarface Is Back, this Geto Boy’s storytelling has influenced and captivated entire generations, which puts him on a pedestal of his own when it comes to longevity. With plans of releasing a new album, the Houston, Texas native has recently written a memoir called Diary of a Madman: The Geto Boys, Life, Death, and the Roots of Southern Rap. The Harper Collins book covers topics from his early life, influences that made him the man he is in music, and some strong beliefs on everyday life. During his most recent interviews for the promotion of his book, Heads have seen a very personal side of Brad Jordan, and on The Cipher Show podcast, no topics are off limits.

(3:00) The 104th episode of Shawn Setaro’s The Cipher Show starts off as very unorthodox, where Scarface discusses his eclectic taste for different Rock & Roll songs. He sets the tone by reminiscing on some of his favorite Rock classics, and tells the host how he played the bass to Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” for his own show in the band’s namesake city.

(8:00) The Rap-A-Lot Records MC’s range of his love for all music goes from Nirvana to ’70s band KISS. He spends a lot of time sharing his memories of younger days admiring the band’s sound and look, but says he lost his interest (as did many die-hards) after KISS shed their makeup and some of their founding members. ‘Face does cite KISS’ 1977 classic Love Gun as his favorite work of Gene Simmons’ and Paul Stanley’s band.

(14:00) The next subject they cover is how serious the division is between the North side and the South side of H-Town, and the tensions that were created at the time when Scarface was a teenager. When ‘Face signed to Rap-a-Lot records, which was located on the North side, he tells the Cipher host how angry his family was when they found out the news, but the signing eventually bridged the gap between the two sides of the city.

(18:00) The podcast episode takes a dark turn into the past life of Brad Jordan, where he tells Shawn how there was an unfortunate string of suicide attempts when Facemob was younger. Scarface wrote in his book about how hard it was to live with depression as a child, and he makes note to everyone listening to the podcast on how mental illness should be discussed, and not shunned in society.

(24:00) Scarface then explains that one of the “sayings” his grandma used to tell him before he even became a prominent figure in Hip-Hop was the title to the Geto Boys’ biggest hit–“My Mind Playing Tricks On Me.” (29:00) After discussing the dispute between Scarface and the Geto Boys over his use of the moniker “Scarface of the Geto Boys,” Face talks to Shawn about his third album The Diary. He released it at a time when he was going through a nasty divorce. He compares this 1994 LP to classic albums like Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear as being a pivotal piece of work. He also wrote in his book that the 1994 album is his Dark Side Of The Moon where he “found himself.” Although it was considered a failure of Gaye’s career at the time of its 1978 release, Here, My Dear is one the greatest works of all time in Scarface’s mind. At this point, The Cipher Show host himself vouches for the fact that the 1978 album is the only body of work on ‘Face’s phone music library.

(38:00) When it comes to the genre of “Gangsta Rap,” ‘Face addresses how most rappers spend their time talking about themselves and how “gangster” they are. On his single “I Seen A Man Die” Scarface states how precious it is to see a life be brought on to this earth and then taken away. He says to Shawn, “That’s when you know God has kept his promise,” in a very calm demeanor. He says he made the song to separate himself from the rest of the sound of the “Gangsta Rap” sub-genre, and to address the other side of being a “gangster.” Scarface cites Ice Cube as one of his biggest influences, stating that because of the success Cube was able to achieve with realistic lyrics, ‘Face knew that he “would make it” as a rapper.  (54:00) Later in the podcast, Scarface cites Kendrick Lamar as one of the leaders of the Hip-Hop that is bringing back the “blueprint” of community, unity, and exposing the current social problems of today’s world that the Geto Boys, N.W.A., and Grandmaster Flash [& The Furious Five]” represented in the early days.

(56:00) Here, ‘Face talks to Shawn about his stage-name which was obviously taken from the 1983 film Scarface. He tells the Cipher host that he didn’t see the actual film until years later, but he coined the term after hearing people who saw the movie say “Oh, you try’na be like Scarface?” That’s where DJ Akshen (Brad Jordan’s original Geto Boys moniker) became Scarface. Face then tells Shawn that through his memoir, he can finally bury this mafioso name attached to who he is and can become Brad Jordan.

Related: Scarface Names More Than 15 MCs Better Than Him. Do You Agree?