Three 6 Mafia Albums (10)
What The Critics Say
With a multi-platinum previous album, a remarkable Academy Award win for the Hustle & Flow soundtrack, a once six-piece crew now shrunk down to a duo, plus a street date pushed back for more than a year, Three 6 Mafia's ninth official album, Last 2 Walk, went through a difficult birthing process. It also could have been "highly anticipated" if it weren't for leadoff single "I'd Rather" knocking expectations down a peg. Put the odd and very MTV-friendly choice of Good Charlotte on the guest list and things began to look grim and embarrassingly forced, but Last 2 Walk features enough of the group's original gutter stance and scrappy attitude to reclaim fans, at least ones who remember the good old days when minimal, pounding hooks and one thug track after another were more important than crossover potential or cohesive albums. Sure, the very good Lyfe Jennings collaboration "Hood Star" has polish and the Akon appearance is a platinum move, but there's a scrappy charm to a Three 6 Mafia album that puts so much of its raw and ragged baller music up front. And plenty of appearances from longtime friend Project Pat help to reinforce the "back to our roots" attitude. Remaining members DJ Paul and Juicy J stay true to the "Intro"'s promise of "giving you some bump!" with the intense numbers like "Trap Boom" and the cold "Corner Man," plus "On Some Chrome" -- which features UGK and one of the last performances from the late Pimp C. "Lolli Lolli" is the best mix of slick and syrup-sipping in a "Stay Fly" manner, and there's enough creativity and humor in the skits to make them worthwhile. Still, redundancy, a no-flow track list, and half-baked ideas like the tedious "Playstation" ("Don't play with me boy/Play with your Playstation" over and over and over) drag the album down, and the absence of the recent singles "Doe Boy Fresh," "Like Money," and "Suga Daddy" -- all originally promised for this album -- are clues that this isn't the full-length Three 6 originally planned. There's no evidence Three 6 had a fully formed Most Known Unknown-styled album in them either, so consider the uneven Last 2 Walk a fair and necessary placeholder effort with a bit of "back to basics" thrown in to satisfy the faithful. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As with practically every successive Three 6 Mafia album, Most Known Unknown is more of the same, executed a little bit better than before. That means a parade of first-rate productions by Juicy J and DJ Paul, the group's primary members, and plenty of street-level rhymes of the most hardcore variety. "Stay Fly" stands out -- not only amid the rest of the album, but amid the entire Three 6 catalog -- with its propulsive intensity and crafty hook. Juicy and Paul sample an old Willie Hutch song here, and the result is striking. Sure, Three 6 has always had a knack for roof-raisers like this, going back to similarly styled anthems like "Tear da Club Up" and "Hit a Muthafucka," but none have had such crossover potential. Features by Eightball, MJG, and Young Buck -- who are also from Memphis -- make the song even more dizzying, as the verses come quickly and hit hard. Nothing else on Most Known Unknown comes close to matching the excellence of "Stay Fly," unfortunately, though there are plenty of good songs here. "Swervin'" and "When I Pull Up at the Club" are two such instances, while "Side 2 Side" shows off Juicy and Paul's ability to import concurrent trends, in this case the "we-don't-dance dance" of Terror Squad's "Lean Back." And of course, you'll find all kinds of gratuitous profanity, sex talk, and drug references, along with over-the-top showboating aggression -- everything that has come to be expected from Three 6. Clocking in at 20-plus songs in roughly 80 minutes Most Known Unknown is indeed more of the same, plus a little extra quality, so if you're a fan, you won't be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're new to the group, likely introduced to them via "Stay Fly," you should expect over-the-top hardcore Southern rap. The beats are all done in-house and are the main draw. The rapping is not bad, though what the guys lack in technique and invention, they compensate for with lyrical excess. Three 6 Mafia is the hardcore of the hardcore, and not for the faint of heart. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Da Unbreakables follows the general trajectory of Three 6 Mafia's career to date, moving them further away from their horrorcore beginnings toward the hardcore rap mainstream, yet doing so without forsaking any of production duo Juicy J and DJ Paul's beatmaking genius. Much like When the Smoke Clears (2000) and Choices (2001), the Mafia's past two releases, Da Unbreakables includes a few standout tracks (namely "Testin My Gangsta," "Bin Laden," "Ridin Spinners," "Rainbow Colors," and "Dangerous Posse") amid a mass of excellently produced yet uninterestingly written ones. All the token motifs are here, and if you've been following Three 6 Mafia this far along, there will be very few surprises. To the Mafia's credit though, they are rather inventive, even when they're remaking "Tear da Club Up" for the umpteenth time (recycled as "Let's Start a Riot" this time around). And further to their credit, the beats have never sounded more impressive. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Choices: The Album'
Release Date 8/28/2001
Tracks 21
Label Relativity
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Released in conjunction with the straight-to-video film of the same name, Choices isn't a soundtrack but rather another in a long line of spun-off Three 6 Mafia albums. Like most post-'90s releases by the group, Choices features remarkable production from beginning to end by Juicy J and DJ Paul, and it also features a couple of standout tracks, in this case the opening few: "2-Way Freak," "Mafia," and "Baby Mama." From there the songwriting unwinds a bit as the tracks remain well produced but function more as features for the many guests (most of the Hypnotize Camp Posse, especially La' Chat, who is heavily featured) than they do as well-written tracks in league with the aforementioned standouts. Even so, Choices is one of the better Three 6 Mafia releases of the early 2000s -- certainly on a par with the preceding When the Smoke Clears, if not a notch above that album -- so fans should take note even if the album is a bit uneven and has very little at all to do with the film beyond a few skits and the title. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'When the Smoke Clears'
Release Date 4/11/2000
Tracks 22
Label Relativity
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
When the Smoke Clears continues Three 6 Mafia's ominous march toward the mainstream, a parade of uncompromising confrontation that grew more credible, album after album and year after year. Here the Memphis collective do what they've been doing all along: spit harsh, chant-along rhymes about anything imaginably taboo, from tongue-ringed fellators to codeine-syrup sippers, over downright menacing beats by Juicy J and DJ Paul. What sets When the Smoke Clears apart from its predecessors is the glossier production and numerous big-name guests (UGK, Big Gipp, Mr. Serv-On, Fiend, Insane Clown Posse, Twiztid). Plus, there are a few exceptional tracks here, chief among them "Sippin' on Some Syrup," "From da Back," "I'm So Hi," and "M.E.M.P.H.I.S." Since the album runs a 22-track distance, there's of course some filler in there, but that's to be expected with most early-2000s rap albums. Regardless of the quantity value, the filler makes for a spotty album overall; however, the aforementioned exceptional tracks make When the Smoke Clears definitely worth seeking out for fans and also make it a noteworthy addition to Three 6 Mafia's deep canon. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Three 6 Mafia Presents: Hypnotize Camp Posse'
Release Date 1/25/2000
Tracks 17
Label Loud
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Three 6 Mafia's Hypnotize Camp Posse is a collection of joints for the group's collective, including Gangsta Boo, Tear Da Club Up Thugs, Killa Klan, Lil' E, Koopsta Knicca, Pastor Troy, and T-Rock, as well as Three 6 Mafia themselves. ~ Keith Farley, All Music Guide
'Chapter 2: World Domination'
Release Date 10/7/1997
Tracks 22
Label Relativity
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
For Chapter 2: World Domination, their first widely distributed album (via Relativity), Three 6 Mafia further refine the hardcore motifs of their underground efforts, toning down the outright horror and playing up their Southern gangsta-isms. Their equation works out to a wonderfully novel album for its time, one that would set the course of their career as well as their dizzying array of solo and spin-off endeavors. In fact, the album's Chapter 2 title is fitting because the group reprises several of its best tracks from the previously released Mystic Stylez and Da End albums, namely "Tear da Club Up," "Late Nite Tip," "Bodyparts," and "N 2 Deep." The rest of the album very well could have come from the group's back catalog also, as tracks like "Neighborhood Hoe" and "Weed Is Got Me High" certainly embody the same sort of ideology, attitude, and approach that had gotten Three 6 Mafia to this point in the game. And then there's "Hit a Muthafucka," which became the group's latest anthem, a rowdy club-banger to say the least. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Da End furthers the horrorcore style that Three 6 Mafia had unveiled on their cult favorite Mystic Stylez debut, except here the overall tone is one of outright violence rather than eerie ominousness. Moreover, the sound quality here is much improved, as producers Juicy J and DJ Paul lay down the sort of hard-hitting, bottom-heavy beats that would define not only the remainder of their career but that of the entire Dirty South movement that would soon blossom. Much like the very similar Chapter 2 album that would follow within a year's time, the balance here between the underground essence of Mystic Stylez, typified by the horrorcore lyrics and haunting ambience, and the accessibility of latter-day Three 6 Mafia, typified by the markedly improved sound quality and more developed song structures, makes Da End an excellent starting point for the uninitiated. Discriminating consumers, however, should note that several of the better songs here would be reprised on the more widely available Chapter 2. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
When Three 6 Mafia released Mystic Stylez, the album that's widely seen as their full-length debut, it didn't make too many waves. After all, it was released independently in 1995, a time when indie rap labels struggled to break out of their local markets, and furthermore, the group was from Memphis of all places and their style was far from the mainstream -- very far. Yet years later, Mystic Stylez stands out as a definitive effort, defining not only what the collective would base its future empire upon but also the horrorcore style of hardcore rap that thrived among the underground scenes outside of New York during the era (e.g., Esham in Detroit, Brotha Lynch Hung in Sacramento, etc.). It's one of those albums that came and went during its initial release yet became a cult classic years later. Mystic Stylez became so for several reasons, among them the album's overall eerie tone, producers Juicy J and DJ Paul's Dirty South-defining lo-fi beats, and the group's downright confrontational rhetoric. Throughout the album, Three 6 Mafia embraces one taboo after another, often many at once, mainly violence ("Tear da Club Up"), drugs ("Now I'm Hi, Pt. 3"), sex ("Porno Movie"), and occultism ("Mystic Stylez"). All of this would be sheer exploitation for the sake of exploitation if not for the craft, especially in terms of production. And if you want evidence that there's more to Mystic Stylez than shock value, listen to "Da Summa," a calm moment of respite amid the thundering chaos that very well could be seen as the Memphis underground version of "It Was a Good Day" or the countless other laid-back summertime anthems of the mid-'90s. For the most part though, Three 6 Mafia is hell-bent here, literally, and that in itself was novelty enough for its time. Years later, in the wake of the successive Dirty South explosion, you can trace back the influence of Mystic Stylez, as a myriad heedless Southerners began throwing 'bows, blazing hydro, and embracing taboos left and right. In fact, even latter-day Three 6 Mafia became a replica of itself, as they continually strived to retain the underground essence of their own beginning. [Several reissues over the years have jumbled the original track listing a bit (adding EP tracks like "Live by Yo Rep," for instance) and altered the cover art, so it's worth shopping around. In particular, the 2001 Hypnotize Minds reissue features remastered sound and is recommended.] ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
