Scarface attended Woodson Middle School in Houston, Texas.^[6] He dropped out of high school and worked as a drug dealer.^[7] As a teenager, he attempted suicide, and subsequently spent time in a hospital psychiatric ward.^[7]

Jordan began his career as DJ Akshen (pronounced "Action"), recording and deejaying for Lil' Troy's Short Stop, which was a local record label in Houston, before adopting the name "Scarface" as a reference to the 1983 film by that name.^[8] After releasing the 12" single "Scarface/Another Head Put To Rest" (1989), which was written by Chris "Mr. 3-2" Barriere and produced by Def Jam Blaster^[9] and Bruce "Grim" Rhodes,^[10] Scarface signed with Rap-A-Lot Records and joined the Geto Boys, replacing a member who left. The first Geto Boys album he appeared on was the group's second album, Grip It! On That Other Level (1989), a highly successful album that garnered the group a large fanbase. Radio and MTV refused to play any songs from the album because of their violent lyrics; however, the album made the Geto Boys into one of the most successful Southern hip hop groups of their era.

In 1992, Scarface (along with fellow Geto Boys member Bushwick Bill) appeared on the Kool G Rap & DJ Polo album Live and Let Die. This collaboration was viewed as notable due to the influential roles that Scarface and Kool G Rap have played in Southern hip hop and East Coast hip hop respectively. During this period of his career, Scarface also worked with the West Coast gangsta rap stars Ice Cube and MC Eiht, as well as with his friend Devin the Dude, a fellow Rap-A-Lot signee.

Scarface's 1991 solo album Mr. Scarface Is Backwas a success, and his popularity soon overshadowed that of the other Geto Boys. Scarface remained in the group, but he released a series of solo albums that kept him in the public eye, and they sold well. Scarface is the only Geto Boys member who has remained with the group ever since the lineup was revamped in 1989. Scarface's popularity as a solo artist peaked with the albums The Diary and The Last of a Dying Breed. In particular, The Last of the Dying Breedachieved both critical and commercial success, and led Scarface to be named "Lyricist of the Year" at the 2001 Source Awards.^[2] In 2002, Scarface released The Fix, the follow-up to The Last of a Dying Breed. The Fix was another highly successful album, which featured a wide range of high-profile guests such as Nas, Jay-Z, Faith Evans, Kelly Price, WC, and Beanie Sigel.

It was around this time that Scarface also returned to the studio with the Geto Boys for what turned out to be their final album as a trio, The Foundation (2005). Further, he was featured on Duets: The Final Chapter, a posthumous album by the Notorious B.I.G. Scarface also made guest appearances on a variety of other tracks throughout the 2000s, including on albums by Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and Tech N9ne.

In addition to his career as a rapper, Scarface was the coordinator and president of Def Jam Southfrom 2000 to 2005, where he fostered the career of the rapper Ludacris.^[2] He also produced three tracks for the UGK album Underground Kingz.

Despite his limited commercial appeal, Scarface has consistently attained wide respect from within the industry, and he has been described as "your favorite rapper's favorite rapper".^[11] In 2005, comedian Chris Rock praised Scarface as one of the best three rappers of all time on his list of the Top-25 Hip-Hop Albums ever.^[12]

On June 30, 2010, Scarface announced that he was working on a new album titled The Habit, which would include features from John Legendand Drake, and that it was scheduled for release that fall.^[13] For one production on the album, Scarface co-hosted a worldwide producer showcase with iStandard from which thousands of producers were considered and after a selection of the top 8, Alex Kresovich was named winner.^[14]The album would feature a production from Eminem.^[15] In February 2011, news came that he had been held in jail without bail since September 2010 for failure to pay child support in four different cases.^[16] He was released from jail in August 2011 and as of 2024, The Habit remains an unreleased album with no announcements made since the arrest. Scarface released a separate album titled Deeply Rooted in 2015.