matzo manorial: Scarface, Beanie Sigel A Dozen Songs Into Mac & Brad LP

Friday, May 11, 2012

Scarface, Beanie Sigel A Dozen Songs Into Mac & Brad LP

'It can be done,' Face tells 'RapFix Live' of getting old pal Jay-Z to guest on collaboration album.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Scarface on "RapFix Live"
Photo: Natasha Chandel/ MTV News

It all started in 1999 when Beanie Sigel enlisted Scarface to rap on "Mac & Brad," an album cut off of his fiery debut, The Truth. Thirteen years later, rap fans are still eagerly awaiting a Sigel/Face collaboration.

So the longtime friends have decided to give the people an entire album's worth. The Houston rap legend estimates that the album will be out sometime next year, but when he swung through "RapFix Live" this week, he gave an update on the LP and then fumbled around for his iPhone to let the Broad Street Bully tell it himself.

"We doin' songs, I got six, he got six," Scarface said. "It's a process that we go through to do this album."

Face Mob finally found Sigel's number in his address book and called his rap buddy, who picked up on the first ring. "It's a reality now; you know our word is our bond. We said we gonna do somethin', we gonna do it," Beanie said about the Mac & BradLP.

As a duo, Beans and Scarface displayed a tremendous amount of lyrical chemistry, but there were also times that they would throw Jay-Z in the mix. And as a trio, the well-regarded MCs created memorable cuts such as the introspective Hov track "This Can't Be Life" and the Kanye West-produced "Guess Who's Back" from Face's 2002 masterpiece, The Fix.

These days, getting Jay-Z and Kanye on a track today might be bit difficult, especially seeing as how Jigga and Sigel had a falling-out some years ago. But Scarface is hopeful that there's always a chance for old friends to reconcile. "I hope so. I look forward to it," he said. "It's hard to tell, but it's a reality, though. It's real, it can be done, we all alive."

Uncle Face admits that he himself isn't in contact with Jay-Z and Kanye like he once was — not that there's any beef, they just kind of lost touch.

"I used to have everybody's number on speed dial like that," Face explained. "I hit Jay-Z, and Jay-Z pick up on the first ring. Now I might hit Jay-Z and I might not hear from him for two years," he said laughing hysterically at his own joke. "I used to call Kanye, Kanye pick up on the first ring, now Kanye don't even got no phone, that's how much times have changed.

Do you think Jay or Kanye would hop on a Scarface/Beanie album? Tell us in the comments!