Jordan began his career as DJ Akshen (A
backronym for "All Krazy Shit Has Ended Now" and pronounced "Action"), recording and deejaying for
Lil' Troy's Short Stop, which was a local record label in Houston, before adopting the name "Scarface" as a reference to the 1983
film by that name. After releasing the 12" single "Scarface/Another Head Put To Rest" (1989), which was written by
Chris "Mr. 3-2" Barriere and produced by Def Jam Blaster and
Bruce "Grim" Rhodes, Scarface signed with
Rap-A-Lot Records and joined the
Geto Boys, replacing a member who left. The first Geto Boys album he appeared on was the group's second album,
Grip It! On That Other Level (1989), a highly successful album that garnered the group a large fanbase. Radio and
MTV refused to play any songs from the album because of their
violent lyrics; however, the album made the Geto Boys into one of the most successful
Southern hip hop groups of their era. In 1992, Scarface (along with fellow Geto Boys member
Bushwick Bill) appeared on the
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo album
Live and Let Die. This collaboration was viewed as notable due to the influential roles that Scarface and Kool G Rap have played in Southern hip hop and
East Coast hip hop respectively. During this period of his career, Scarface also worked with the
West Coast gangsta rap stars
Ice Cube and
MC Eiht, as well as with his friend
Devin the Dude, a fellow Rap-A-Lot signee. Scarface's 1991 solo album
Mr. Scarface Is Back was a success, and his popularity soon overshadowed that of the other Geto Boys. Scarface remained in the group, but he released a series of solo albums that kept him in the public eye, and they sold well. Scarface is the only Geto Boys member who has remained with the group ever since the lineup was revamped in 1989. Scarface's popularity as a solo artist peaked with the albums
The Diary and
The Last of a Dying Breed. In particular,
The Last of the Dying Breed achieved both critical and commercial success, and led Scarface to be named "Lyricist of the Year" at the 2001
Source Awards. On June 30, 2010, Scarface announced that he was working on a new album titled
The Habit, which would include features from
John Legend and
Drake, and that it was scheduled for release that fall. For one production on the album, Scarface co-hosted a worldwide producer showcase with iStandard from which thousands of producers were considered and after a selection of the top 8, Alex Kresovich was named winner. The album would feature a production from
Eminem. In February 2011, news came that he had been held in jail without bail since September 2010 for failure to pay child support in four different cases. He was released from jail in August 2011 and as of 2024,
The Habit remains an unreleased album with no announcements made since the arrest. Scarface released a separate album titled
Deeply Rooted in 2015. ==Media appearances==