Three 6 Mafia

Without compromising their dark image as a malevolent rap group from the South, Three 6 Mafia quickly evolved from a humble underground rap collective to a commercially successful dynasty by retaining their raw qualities and releasing countless albums under a number of monikers.

DJ Paul, Crunchy Black and Juicy J took time out of their busy schedules to share some of their favorite albums with ARTISTdirect!

DJ PAUL'S PICKS:

	Eazy-E Eazy-Duz-It
"Because it’s the first gangsta album. Eazy was straight up gansta. That was a really good album, man."
	LL Cool J Bigger and Deffer
"I love that album. 'I’m Bad' is my favorite song. It’s also one of my favorite videos. I learned how to scratch from watching that video."
	Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
"It had some bangers on that. It some I grew up with songs like 'Bring The Noise,' 'Night of the Living Basehead.' There were a lot of good songs on there."
	Willie Hutch The Mack
"Willie Hutch RIP. That’s my favorite old school R&B Singer."
	Three 6 Mafia Mystic Stylez
"That speaks for itself. That’s our first gold album."

JUICY J'S PICKS:

	N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton
"For the production, man; Dr Dre. They had some hard songs: 'Fuck the Police,' 'Straight Outta Compton.'"
	N.W.A. Niggaz4life
"I mean man, I can list all of the NWA albums for real."
	Three 6 Mafia Chapter 2: World Domination
"That’s when we first blew up."
	Three 6 Mafia When the Smoke Clears
"That’s our first platinum album."
	Project Pat Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin
"It was just me and him and the music. It was a straight street."

CRUNCH BLACK'S PICKS:

	50 Cent Both Albums
"Because he said he was gonna take over and he did. I like a man of his word."
	Damian Marley Welcome to Jamrock
"I like different music. Being a music man I like to listen to different music so I know what the people like. I like artist have more than one song. The fans need more than one song. I like his whole album."
	Killer Mike Killer Mixtape
"I like that. Ever since he came out he been the same. No changes. No acting funny. He’s real."
	Eazy-E Any Album
"He’s gangsta and I like gangsta. That’s real gangsta music. He stands 10 toes down."
	Marvin Gaye Here, My Dear
"Marvin Gaye keeps your mind right. If you got a woman you need some Marvin Gaye or Bobby Womack in your life."

Thanks to Three 6 Mafia for sharing their faves with us! Their latest album, Most Known Unknown, is available now in the ARTISTdirect Store

Evolving slowly but steadily over the years, Three 6 Mafia began as an exploitative, horror-themed underground hardcore rap sensation ("666 Mafia," get it?) yet went on to enjoy relatively mainstream success years later, eventually winning an Oscar and scoring some major hits. The Memphis, TN, group's membership varied from album to album, with the one constant being the duo of Juicy J and DJ Paul, who are producers as well as rappers. Other notable Mafia affiliates at one time or another include Crunchy Black, Gangsta Boo, Lord Infamous, Koopsta Knicca, La' Chat, Project Pat, Killa Klan Kaze, and Indo G. The production acumen of Juicy and Paul also brought about a number of side projects (Tear da Club Up Thugs, Hypnotize Camp Posse, Da Headbussaz) and independent label ventures; the guys initially did business as Prophet Entertainment, later as Hypnotize Minds, working out deals with Relativity Records, Loud Records, and Columbia -- all in turn.

Three 6 Mafia's beginnings date back to the early '90s, when they were known as Triple Six Mafia; these recordings are well compiled on such latter-day compilations as Underground, Vol. 1: 1991-1994. Three 6 made their proper debut in 1995 with Mystic Stylez, a fairly groundbreaking if rudimentary effort that lent itself well to the "horrorcore" tag tossed about in the years to follow. Following another independently released album, Da End (1996), Three 6 signed a distribution deal with Relativity, resulting in Chapter 2: World Domination (1997) and a rash of hasty releases to follow, including solo albums as well as side projects. There were some underground hits from this era that helped further the group's fan base: "Tear da Club Up '97" and "Sippin' on Some Syrup," most notably. Three 6 eventually signed to Columbia, though the group's label debut, Da Unbreakables (2003), didn't break into mainstream consciousness. That would happen with Most Known Unknown (2005), thanks to "Stay Fly," the first major hit for the group. Many doors opened for Three 6 thereafter, including an unlikely Oscar win in early 2006 (for "Hard out There for a Pimp," from the film Hustle & Flow). Capitalizing on the success, Sony reissued Most Known Unknown in 2006 with some new tracks, including a remix of "Side 2 Side," that featured Kanye West.

Given the longevity of Three 6 and the group's longtime status as cult sensations within the hardcore rap underground, there are all kinds of stories and rumors that surfaced over the years. Keeping tabs on the group membership alone is a challenge. For one reason or another, Juicy and Paul rarely kept a consistent stable of rappers, and with each departing member came some sort of drama; for instance, Gangsta Boo allegedly left after finding the Lord whereas Project Pat spent time behind bars. There was also a short-lived beef with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony that inspired a one-off EP, Live by Yo Rep. And there were cinematic ambitions, too -- albeit direct-to-video in nature (Choices). That such a group would ever cross over as Three 6 did in the wake of "Stay Fly" could never have been imagined early on, when they were among the most notorious rap acts out there. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide