What Happened To Scarface The Rapper?

Born Bradley Jordan, the rapper known as Scarface is one of the most influential pioneers of Southern hip-hop of all time. As a member of the iconic rap trio Geto Boys, he was instrumental in shaping Southern hip-hop, and his solo career saw his star rise even further, with Rap Junkie ranking him as the best Southern rapper of all time.

Known for his powerful lyricism and storytelling abilities, and for his fearless ability to dive into topics like depression, death, and karma, Scarface's 30-plus-year career has seen him release 11 solo albums and seven albums with Geto Boys. He's known as a "rapper's rapper," per Rap Junkie, a visionary capable of creating wholly original and emotionally powerful work.

Scarface retained a deep connection to his community, and in 2019, announced his decision to run for Houston city council, a bid he eventually lost in a runoff. "I'm not comfortable with how politics are being run at this point. I'm not comfortable with how my community is being served at this point," he told Texas Monthly of his decision to run for office, citing a desire to fight institutionalized racism and other systemic struggles that plague his city by implementing programs like reparations and police reform.

In June 2020, Scarface caught COVID, and suffered long-lasting effects. "COVID attacked my lungs first, and then it attacked my kidneys and knocked them out," the rapper said to Houstonia. "I got full lung recovery, but my kidneys never came back." He ended up needing a kidney transplant, and he posted a call for help on social media. Ultimately, his son Christopher Jordan donated a kidney, and the transplant was successful.

"It happened so quick honestly, he was in the hospital with COVID-19 and a couple days after that we found out his kidney was failing, seems like the next day the doctors were telling us he needed to go on dialysis," the younger Jordan told Houstonia. After the successful transplant, Jordan wrote on Instagram, "What a journey it's been. Surgery went well. My dad is thriving. Kidney is working great! Thank you for all the prayers."

In November 2021, Scarface announced his departure from hip-hop, according to another article at Houstonia, and performed a farewell show at the House of Blues. Yet the 51-year-old has no intention of leaving music behind. "I would love to go into a different lane of music. Maybe blues or rock. Maybe alternative," he said on the Geto Boys Reloaded podcast, per Hypebeast. "I want to do something different now."