Scarface Delivers a Nostalgic 6-Song Medley for His NPR Tiny Desk Performance

Houston legend Scarface NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert arrived on Monday (Dec. 18), and the artist punched in an impressive six-song medley. 

FaceMob performed a half dozen classics ranging from “My Block,” “Smile” and Geto Boys’ “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” alongside his band and longtime producer Mike Dean. He paid homage to his Geto Boys compatriot, the late Bushwick Bill’s classic verse from the latter song. Face’s storytelling and delivery were equally poignant, as he quipped about recording most of the songs under the influence, most notably his opus “Mary Jane.”  

Recently, Face expressed his affinity for the guitar — an instrument he used a little bit during the performance — in an interview with Fender. “All my uncles were left-handed, but flipped their guitar to play right-handed … what some people would call the ‘right way,’” he said. “Me, I didn’t know how to play, so I took it and played upside down. So the chords that he was making were right for him, but upside down for me. I didn’t know any better, so I guess it was easy. The first song I ever learned on the guitar was ‘I’d Love to Change the World’ by Ten Years after. And then I started playing ZZ Top’s ‘La Grange’.”

Tiny Desk producer DJ Cuzzin B raved about Face’s performance on X, dubbing it the “best hip-hop Tiny Desk we’ve ever put out.”

Tiny Desk celebrated its 15th anniversary this year and has featured performances from Tyler, the Creator, Freddie Gibbs and Anderson .Paak and more. 

Watch Scarface’s performance below.