Project Pat Albums (11)
'Play Me Some Pimpin'
Release Date 1/1/2009
Tracks 25
Label Trap-A-Holics
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What The Critics Say
Project Pat's Walkin' Bank Roll was released less than a year after his 2006 effort, Crook by da Book, but some major events occurred in that time. First, he starred alongside his Three 6 Mafia in the MTV reality television show Adventures in Hollyhood. Second of all, and more importantly, he left Sony Records after eight years on the label and switched to Koch. The indie label took advantage of his MTV exposure, promoted his single "Don't Call Me No Mo" to the point that it seemed inescapable, and in turn sold a goofy amount of ringtones. The song's "Don't call me no mo/And don't text me no mo" laid over a hard, infectious beat is classic Three 6 Mafia, who get the executive producer credit on the album. "Rubberband Me" -- as in "I'm a walkin' bank roll/You can rubberband me" -- is likewise Three 6-ish, but with track after track taking a clever phrase and beating it to death on the chorus, there's little of that Project Pat magic that made Ghetty Green so hood, so vital. With so many club tracks he's left with little room to offer something substantial, and the whole thing becomes overwhelming right about the tenth time "Wagon Wheels" offers "I'm rollin', rollin'/On these wagon wheels." Taken in small bites and singles the album fares much better, with a little sweet relief offered by the more serious numbers "Motivated" and "See You Fall." It's no big surprise that Three 6 and Pat were in a hurry to strike while things were hot, but as big as the singles and club bangers are, the album as a whole isn't up to their usual standards. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'What Cha Starin At?'
Release Date 8/21/2007
Tracks 21
Label Hypnotize Minds
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'Crook by da Book: The Fed Story'
Release Date 7/18/2006
Tracks 20
Label Sony
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What The Critics Say
Project Pat's often delayed Crook by da Book: The Fed Story finally arrived at the end of 2006, a year when the man finally joined Three 6 Mafia, the Oscar-winning crew he's always been affiliated with since the beginning, without ever being an official member. Judging from this gutter-fabulous release and the Gangsta Grillz mixtape he unleashed with DJ Drama earlier in the year, he's taking the high-profile promotion in stride and with his feet firmly planted on the streets. Featuring the same sleazy swagger and the same uncompromising allegiance to the ghetto, Crook by da Book is like a properly financed version of his Ghetty Green LP with beefier beats and more polished production. Everything rumbles the trunk due to that fat Hypnotize Minds sound, and hot topics are booties, making paper, and occasionally survival, all delivered simply and sweetened with infectious hooks. Usual suspects Pimp C and Three 6 Mafia feel right at home on their highlight tracks, and the interesting choices of Beanie Sigel and crooner Lyfe Jennings work just as well and serve to broaden the album a bit. Just a bit really, since Pat remains Pat, and while he's lost none of his touch, he hasn't grown much, either, and the album lives or dies by the listener's tolerance for his tried-and-true, down-and-dirty formula. The single-minded Crook by da Book might not woo many newcomers toward his hard-thugging corner of the hip-hop world, but Hypnotize Minds fans worried a Oscar would make this family go soft can now exhale. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'Gangsta Grillz, Vol. 15'
Release Date 2/21/2006
Tracks 28
Label BCD Music Group
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'Mix Tape: The Appeal'
Release Date 10/21/2003
Tracks 17
Label Hypnotize Minds
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'Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin'
Release Date 2/13/2001
Tracks 20
Label Relativity
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What The Critics Say
A charter member of Memphis' Hypnotize Camp Posse (along with Gangsta Boo and Three 6 Mafia), Project Pat is a skilled demonstrator of mid-South baller hip-hop. The Hypnotize Camp tends to market its releases in the manner of Master P's No Limit label and the Cash Money Millionaires but with much less gloss. With menacing beats (courtesy of DJ Paul and Juicy J) consisting of heavy, repetitive drum kicks and sinister high-hat snares, Pat takes drug-hustling rap into the same deranged dimension as his Memphis cohorts, Three 6 Mafia. Southern pimp slang from rap's underbelly mixed with eerie low-end synth grooves is the way of the walk here on Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin. Strictly gangsta, Pat's unique flow combines a rapid Midwest cadence with a sing-song Southern format. With its sprawling number of tracks, it's best to hone in on a few of the standouts: "Life We Live," "If You Ain't From My Hood," "Break Da Law 2001," and "So High." ~ M.F. DiBella, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
When visiting Memphis, out-of-towners will inevitably head toward Graceland to commune with the ghost of Elvis Presley, maybe tour the legendary Sun Studios, and later take a stroll down historic Beale Street. Few tourists venture close to the north side of the Bluff City, though, and after listening to the haunting "North, North," the defining track of Project Pat's "underground album," Murderers & Robbers, even most natives would be scared to death to take a ride on Pat's turf. An affiliate of Memphis rap pioneers Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat (born Patrick Houston) grew up on the north side of the city, a hard-luck area cratered by poverty where crime is casual and violence is frequent. This is the world outlined lyrically by Pat on his independently released second album, Murderers & Robbers. The brutal lyrics of the nightmarish "This Ain't No Game" are enforced by a sparse, dark-hued instrumental track. The chilling "Bitch Smackin Killa" is a tale of betrayal and violence, a crime where the police will respond too late to do much more than pull a body bag out of the trunk. The title track uses the chant of "murderer" like a hard rock guitarist will use a recurring riff, while the dead-end tale of woe, "Easily Executed," provides an antique feel, sounding like a slightly scratchy record in the background while Pat slings rhymes. Although no producer is listed on Murderers & Robbers -- the CD packaging looks for all the world like an illicit bootleg -- the songs were most likely shaped by Three 6 Mafia masterminds Juicy J (Pat's brother) and DJ Paul. The production is deft and imaginative, heightening the paranoia and claustrophobic nature of Pat's rhymes, making Murderers & Robbers a solid representative of the Dirty South sound, heavily influenced by the hardcore style of Houston's Geto Boys. If the pornographic sex, random violence, and hard-edged lyrics of Murderers & Robbers seem too exaggerated to be real, a look at the newspaper headlines will remind listeners otherwise. Only in Project Pat's Memphis could gang members confined to the county jail hold gladiatorial battles between inmates, brutal clashes that left many participants crippled for life. Gangsta rap doesn't get any more starkly realistic than Murderers & Robbers. ~ Rev. Keith A. Gordon, All Music Guide
