On a long-awaited collaboration with Nashville, Tennessee rapper Starlito, Scarface contributes some bleak “Reality Rap” on a record all about the dark days in his rearview mirror. Luckily for the two artists, those days are now replaced with happier, fruitful times but as Hip-Hop is always emphasizing, remembering where you came from is of the utmost importance. The latest single from producer Trakksounds, “Once Upon a Time” is dark in places, but is ultimately an homage to triumph.

Scarface & Lil Troy Have Ended Their 15 Year Beef. Troy Breaks It Down. (Audio)

On the song’s hook, sung by Kam Franklin, it’s said “once upon a time, in a world so cold/When I was a child without a smile dreaming of diamonds and gold/I could sing you a song, I could write you a poem/I could tell you the story of my life, where it all went wrong.” ‘Face took that theme and ran with it, recounting his own childhood and how his surroundings worked against his progress. “At an early age, I was plagued with what you couldn’t play with/And regardless to what you seen, you couldn’t say shit,” ‘Face raps about coming up in the streets of Houston, Texas. “What you did and what you didn’t get away with/Was it worth them lives it took in this everyday shit?,” he asks before saying “Another question that you ask yourself/You got to eat, because these streets will starve your ass to death.” Longtime Scarface fans will recognize and appreciate the somber nature of his rhymes, as he is considered one of the preeminent MCs of the style.

Raekwon, Pete Rock, Scarface & Vince Staples Discuss Hip-Hop’s Generation Gap (Video)

Of making such a collaboration happen, Trakksounds tells XXL “‘Face works in the same studio as me and so his engineer (Steve-O) and I kept putting a bug in his ear about Star. I knew they would fit perfect together and once Face heard the record it was over. Two of my favorite artists ever on the same track along with Kam Franklin, who is my favorite singer right now, came out exactly how I envisioned.”

“Once Upon a Time” will appear on Trakksounds’ March album The Other Side, which also features Devin The Dude, Dizzy Wright, A$AP Ferg, and more.