It might seem like worlds colliding – the glitz and glam of 80s pop music crashing into the gritty reality of gangster rap. But as the iconic film Scarface and the evolution of hip-hop proved, the unlikely pairing had a certain dramatic, and often humorous, resonance. For those who think this is about basketball, think again. Let’s talk about music, movies, and the unexpected crossover appeal of songs like “Song Push It” – or more accurately, “Push It to the Limit.”
Yesterday, while browsing the internet, I stumbled upon an insightful post that perfectly articulated a thought I’ve had for years: the fascinating, and sometimes absurd, trend of sampling upbeat 80s pop songs in hardcore hip-hop tracks. My own journey with this phenomenon started with an unhealthy obsession with Scarface. Like many, I was captivated by Tony Montana’s world. I knew the movie inside and out, and even more embarrassingly, I was deeply familiar with the soundtrack. Try telling someone there’s a song called “Rush Rush to the Ya Yo” – they might not believe you, but it’s right there in the club scene where Tony starts making moves on his boss’s girlfriend.
The allure of the Scarface soundtrack went beyond just the movie. When rappers started sampling these tracks, it felt like a nod to a shared cultural touchstone. Scarface himself sampled it, Fat Joe used a sample early in his career, and Raekwon’s “Criminology” famously incorporated a sample. As a fan, I ate it all up.
Mobb Deep taking cues from the Scarface soundtrack for tracks like “G.O.D. Part III” and “Your Life is Mine” felt like a deeper level of appreciation, subtle and cool, almost like an inside joke for Scarface aficionados. Then Grand Theft Auto III came along, and the Flashback radio station dedicated to the Scarface soundtrack was pure fan service. I was in heaven, even if I’d already played those songs to death.
Then came a track by a rapper with “Killa” in his name, sampling “Rush Rush.” At the time, it felt like a stroke of genius, a clever flip. But this trend of using happy, synth-heavy 80s pop to underscore narratives of modern-day drug dealing began to escalate, often reaching comical levels. The sheer contrast between the often-upbeat, almost cheesy nature of these 80s tracks and the serious subject matter of the rap lyrics was, and still is, quite amusing. Was it intentional irony? Probably not, but the comedic effect was undeniable.
As the blog straight bangin’ pointed out, Rick Ross took this trend to another level by sampling “Push it to the Limit,” the other major anthem from Scarface. “Push it to the limit” – get it? Push drugs to the limit. He even weaves in lines from the movie, referencing banana boats and other iconic imagery. Straight bangin’ summed it up perfectly, eliciting a laugh-out-loud reaction:
Oh, I get it: You’re from Miami and you front like you’re some neck-bearded Antonio Montana so naturally you sample 80’s synth-rock used in Scarface. What a clever way to get Paul Engemann some royalty paper. Subtle, Rick, subtle. Your wit knows no bounds.
This take perfectly captures the slightly ridiculous, yet undeniably entertaining, nature of the trend. It’s the kind of track you appreciate for its sheer audacity. Why does it work, in a weird way? Perhaps it’s the juxtaposition of the “studio gangster” persona, far removed from actual street life, using the most un-“gully” 80s pop as a backdrop. It’s a formula that artists like Jadakiss, DMX, and Cam’ron have also tapped into, creating a catalog of gangster music that relies on the cheesiness of 80s pop. What’s more hardcore than tales of violence and drug empires set to a Casio drum machine and simple synth chords?
Revisiting Scarface recently, I was struck by how Al Pacino, an Italian actor, went completely over-the-top with that exaggerated Cuban accent. It’s almost cartoonish. Rappers like Rick Ross seem to treat Tony Montana not as a fictional character, but as a larger-than-life figure, capable of superhuman feats like snorting mountains of cocaine and surviving barrages of bullets.
The reality is that Scarface was a creation of Oliver Stone, a San Francisco 49ers fan, who named the character Tony Montana after his favorite player, Joe Montana. It was a reimagining of the 1930s Howard Hawks mob film Scarface, loosely based on the life of Al Capone – who, ironically, died from complications of pneumonia and a stroke, not in a hail of bullets.
In the opening scene of the 1983 Scarface, Tony explains he learned English by watching James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart movies. These actors pioneered the tough-guy persona that still influences actors today.
So, where is this exploration going? It’s about the unexpected, sometimes hilarious, appropriation of 80s pop culture. Just as Scarface and “Push It to the Limit” became anthems for a world far removed from their original context, the trend continued. Last night, a commercial for the Miami Vice movie reboot featured, to my dismay, a cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” A sacrilege! That song has been iconic for decades. The fact that someone decided to reimagine it for Miami Vice in this context feels like a similar, if not more egregious, example of this trend.
If we’re going completely off-topic from basketball, let’s lean into it. And if you’re feeling frustrated by all this musical misappropriation, maybe it’s time for a digital stress reliever. Now is your chance to virtually headbutt like Zidane.
