The unexpected triumph of Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul and Juicy J at the 2005 Oscars and the ubiquity of celebratory anthems like “Stay Fly” brought Memphis’ vibrant hip-hop scene some much-needed popular recognition. Project Pat's menacing flow and tongue-twisting lyricism have made him a standout member of Three 6 Mafia’s Hypnotized Minds clique. Crook By da Book: The Fed Story certainly contains enough giddily morbid lyricism, funereal tempos, and Willie Hutch-fueled hooks to satisfy any diehard fan, but Pat’s album is distinguished from the common run of Hypnotized Minds releases by his mind-numbingly formidable cadences. Where other Memphis MCs might be content to simply flow over Juicy J’s sinister production work, Project Pat’s hallucinatory rhymes and relentlessly fluid cadences provide the perfect counterpoint to Juicy J’s icy synths. The combination of these two talents produces some incredible moments; the hypnotic chants of “I Ain’t Going Back to Jail” and the eerie Spaghetti Western whistles of “Crack a Head” take the bleak aesthetics of Memphis hip-hop to previously unimagined heights. The unexpected triumph of Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul and Juicy J at the 2005 Oscars and the ubiquity of celebratory anthems like “Stay Fly” brought Memphis’ vibrant hip-hop scene some much-needed popular recognition.
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Project Pat's menacing flow and tongue-twisting lyricism have made him a standout member of Three 6 Mafia’s Hypnotized Minds clique. Crook By da Book: The Fed Story certainly contains enough giddily morbid lyricism, funereal tempos, and Willie Hutch-fueled hooks to satisfy any diehard fan, but Pat’s album is distinguished from the common run of Hypnotized Minds releases by his mind-numbingly formidable cadences.
Where other Memphis MCs might be content to simply flow over Juicy J’s sinister production work, Project Pat’s hallucinatory rhymes and relentlessly fluid cadences provide the perfect counterpoint to Juicy J’s icy synths. The combination of these two talents produces some incredible moments; the hypnotic chants of “I Ain’t Going Back to Jail” and the eerie Spaghetti Western whistles of “Crack a Head” take the bleak aesthetics of Memphis hip-hop to previously unimagined heights.
Of the many hardcore rappers to emerge from Memphis during the late '90s, Project Pat stood tall amid his peers. His affiliation with the Three 6 Mafia collective introduced him to many listeners, especially after he was featured on the group's hit song 'Sippin' on Some Syrup' in 2000. Yet Project Pat (born Patrick Houston, brother of Three 6 Mafia founder Juicy J) made his mark on much of America with a hit song of his own a year later, 'Chickenhead.'
The song -- which features production by Juicy J and DJ Paul along with vocals by La' Chat -- became a Dirty South anthem in 2001 and propelled Pat's third album, Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin, into the Top Five. Rap music had long been a part of Pat's life before he soared to national fame in the early 2000s. His brother, Juicy J, co-founded influential Memphis hardcore rap group Three 6 Mafia during the early '90s. Gomez Peer. Though never an official member of the group, Pat affiliated himself with the Mafia, appearing on such albums as Crazyndalazdayz (1998) and Indo G's Angel Dust (1998). A year later, Pat recorded a solo album of his own for Hypnotize Minds/Loud, Ghetty Green. Though the solo debut didn't propel Pat to superstar status, it did establish him in the growing Dirty South scene, and his follow-up album, Murderers & Robbers (2000), did much the same; though this second album was released independently rather than through Loud.
Next came Pat's high-profile appearance on Three 6 Mafia's 'Sippin' on Some Syrup,' and when that song became a huge hit, the stage was set for one of his own. That hit would be 'Chickenhead,' a song also featuring La' Chat, the successor to Gangsta Boo's position as the token female member of Three 6 Mafia.
The song pitted the two against one another in typical Dirty South style: La' Chat talking badly about Pat, he calling her a 'chickenhead.' Pat's longtime legal skirmishes, however, began to catch up with him. During the interim period following the success of 'Chickenhead,' Pat struggled with legal problems stemming from a January 2001 parole violation, when police pulled him over for speeding and discovered two revolvers.
On March 13 of that same year, a federal jury found him guilty of two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He had been on parole for aggravated robbery. Meanwhile, Loud continually pushed back the release date for Pat's fourth album, Layin' da Smack Down, until it finally arrived in the summer of 2002. Mixtape appearances and work with Three 6 Mafia bridged the four-year gap before Crook by da Book: The Fed Story (2006) arrived, followed by Walkin' Bank Roll (2007) on Koch. His 2009 effort Real Recognize Real was his first for major-label Asylum.