The Untouchable (album)

The Untouchable
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 11, 1997 (1997-03-11)
Studio
GenreHip-hop
Length55:31
Label
Producer
Scarface chronology
The Diary
(1994)
The Untouchable
(1997)
My Homies
(1998)
Singles from The Untouchable
  1. "Smile"
    Released: February 13, 1997
  2. "Game Over"
    Released: 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarHalf star[1]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[2]
Los Angeles TimesStarStarStar[3]
Muzik6/10[4]
NME3/10[5]
RapReviews7/10[6]
The New Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStar[7]
The SourceStarStarStarStar[8]

The Untouchable is the fourth solo studio album by American rapper Scarface. It was released on March 11, 1997 through Rap-A-Lot Records. Recording sessions took place at Hippie House and at the Atomic Dog in Houston and at the Enterprise in Burbank. Production was handled by Mike Dean, N.O. Joe, Tone Capone, Domo, Dr. Dre, John Bido, Joseph "Jo Jo" Hearne, and Scarface himself, who also served as executive producer together with "J" Prince. It features guest appearances from 2Pac, Daz Dillinger, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Johnny P, Lisa Crawford and Too $hort, as well as contributions from Devin the Dude, K.B. and Roger Troutman.

The album combines elements of Southern gangsta rap with stylistic influences from g-funk, moving beyond a strictly Houston-centered production approach to present a more polished and cross-regional sound.[9][10]

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming Scarface's sole album to reach that position; it also peaked atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for two weeks, giving him his second number-one album on that chart. The album sold 169,000 copies in its first week,[11] and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on May 16, 1997.

Its lead single "Smile" reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the RIAA on August 8, 1997. The album's second single, "Game Over", made it to number 34 on the UK singles chart and number 50 on the New Zealand singles chart. The song "Mary Jane" was released as a promotional single.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"  0:56
2."Untouchable"4:13
3."No Warning"
  • Scarface
  • N.O. Joe
  • Mike Dean
  • John Bido
2:36
4."Southside"
  • Jordan
  • Dean
  • Scarface
  • Mike Dean
  • Tone Capone
2:13
5."Sunshine" (featuring Lisa Crawford)
  • Jordan
  • Johnson
  • Scarface
  • N.O. Joe
3:53
6."Money Makes the World Go Round" (featuring Daz)
  • Scarface
  • Mike Dean
  • Tone Capone
4:29
7."For Real"
  • Jordan
  • Dean
  • Scarface
  • N.O. Joe
  • Mike Dean
4:32
8."Ya Money or Ya Life"
  • Jordan
  • Johnson
  • Scarface
  • N.O. Joe
  • Jo Jo
5:19
9."Mary Jane"
  • Jordan
  • Dean
  • Scarface
  • Mike Dean
  • Tone Capone
4:41
10."Smile" (featuring 2Pac and Johnny P)
  • Scarface
  • Mike Dean
  • Tone Capone
5:00
11."Smartz"
  • Jordan
  • Dean
  • Scarface
  • Mike Dean
  • Tone Capone
5:05
12."Faith"
  • Jordan
  • Dean
  • Michael Poye
  • Scarface
  • Mike Dean
  • Tone Capone
  • Domo
5:57
13."Game Over" (featuring Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Too $hort)
Dr. Dre4:50
14."Outro"  1:47
Total length:55:31
Notes
  • Track 2 contains additional vocals from Roger Troutman.
  • Track 6 contains additional vocals from Devin "The Dude" Copeland and Kevin "K.B." Brown.
  • Track 11 contains additional vocals from Devin "The Dude" Copeland.

Personnel

  • Brad "Scarface" Jordan – vocals, producer (tracks: 2-12), mixing, executive producer
  • Lisa Crawford – vocals (track 5)
  • Delmar "Daz Dillinger" Arnaud – vocals (track 6)
  • Tupac "2Pac" Shakur – vocals (track 10)
  • Johnny P. – vocals (track 10)
  • Andre "Dr. Dre" Young – vocals & producer (track 13)
  • O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson – vocals (track 13)
  • Todd "Too $hort" Shaw – vocals (track 13)
  • Mike Dean – producer (tracks: 2-4, 6, 7, 9-12), engineering, mixing, mastering
  • Joseph "N.O. Joe" Johnson – producer (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8)
  • Anthony "Tone Capone" Gilmour – producer (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 9-12)
  • John Okuribido – producer (track 3)
  • Joseph "Jo Jo" Hearne – producer (track 8)
  • Michael "Domo" Poye – producer (track 12)
  • Jeff Griffin – engineering assistant
  • James "J Prince" Smith – executive producer
  • Jason Clark – art direction, design
  • Mario Castellanos – photography
  • Talmadge Harris – production coordinator
  • Tony "Big Chief" Randle – production supervisor

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ Stanley, Leo. "The Untouchable - Scarface | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  2. ^ Diehl, Matt (March 28, 1997). "Music Review: The Untouchable | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. No. 372. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  3. ^ Coker, Cheo Hodari (March 9, 1997). "* * * Scarface, "The Untouchable," Noo-Trybe/Rap-A-Lot..." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  4. ^ Ashon, Will (April 1997). "Scarface: The Untouchable" (PDF). Muzik. No. 23. p. 123. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  5. ^ Cox, Tom (March 29, 1997). "NME.COM - SCARFACE - The Untouchable - 29/3/1997". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  6. ^ "Scarface :: The Untouchable :: Rap-A-Lot/Noo Trybe". RapReviews. April 19, 1997. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  7. ^ Caramanica, Jon (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (eds.). {The New} Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. pp. 329–330. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
  8. ^ Alvarez, Gabriel (April 1997). "Record Report". The Source. No. 91. pp. 93–94.
  9. ^ Allah, Sha Be (March 11, 2021). "Scarface Dropped His Fourth LP 'The Untouchable' 24 Years Ago". The Source. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  10. ^ Madden, Sidney; Fitzgerald, Trent (March 11, 2023). "Scarface Drops The Untouchable Album - Today in Hip-Hop". XXL. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  11. ^ Kaufman, Gil (March 20, 1997). "U2's Bubble Pops; Scarface Takes Over". MTV News. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  12. ^ "Scarface Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  13. ^ "Scarface Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  14. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "American album certifications – Scarface – The Untouchable". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 21, 2026.