THE DJ PAUL & JUICY J COLLECTION

For the last decade, hip-hop has been dominated by a sinister 808 sound that’s weaved its way through crunk, trap rap, and everything within their orbits. Sadly, Memphis duo DJ Paul & Juicy J don’t get enough credit for helping to develop and popularize this aesthetic in the early-to-mid ’90s, despite all their fame and noteriety as the core members of Three 6 Mafia.

As producers, they took Southern club music from the celebratory spasms of Miami and New Orleans to a dark place, both thematically and sonically. Starting in 1991, their underground mixtapes, both solo and together as Triple Six Mafia, expanded on the ominous promise of “Triggerman,” creating a local sound that M-Town could call its own. By throwing gangster rap and horrorcore influences into the mix, they were instrumental in creating the first hardcore Southern rap sound east of the Mississippi.

They rose to national prominence in the wake of No Limit’s success, signing a distribution deal with Relativity Records for their label Hypnotize Minds. I’ll never forget listening to 1997’s Chapter 2: World Domination for the first time in the dorm room of a high school friend from Memphis, and being blown away by how weird it sounded to my East Coast ears.

In the 2000s, their music got bigger, goofier. They won an Oscar by producing a bad song for a good movie about a pimp. They had a pretty entertaining reality show on MTV. But through it all, they deserve credit for staying true to their core sound in a way that few successful hip-hop producers have. They’ve rarely produced for artists outside their circle, they’ve never signed an R&B artist, and they’ve never really strayed from the gritty gangster rap that they came up on.

Simply put, DJ Paul & Juicy J planted an important sonic seed that spread out everywhere across the South. Without them, there would be no Drumma Boy, there would be no Shawty Redd, there would be no Lex Luger. DJ Toomp and Lil Jon might still be making Miami-style bass records if the Triple Six had never come along. I combed through the archives to assemble this compilation of my favorite works by Paul and the Juice Man. Enjoy…

THE DJ PAUL & JUICY J COLLECTION
(PRESENTED BY UGGH…NICE WATCH)
1. DJ Paul & Juicy J “Intro” (1993)
2. Triple Six Mafia “Playa Hataz” (1995)
3. Kingpin Skinny Pimp “One Life 2 Live” (1996)
4. Gangsta Blac f/ Cool B “Life’s A Bitch” (1996)
5. Cutthroat f/ Project Pat “Bout My Money” (2009)
6. Three 6 Mafia f/ UGK & Project Pat “Sippin’ On Some Syrup” (2000)
7. Lord Infamous “Pass That Junt” (1994)
8. T-Rock “So Hi” (2003)
9. The Kaze “Pure Anna” (1998)
10. Three 6 Mafia “Late Nite Tip” (1996)
11. Young Buck f/ T.I. & Ludacris “Stomp” (2004)
12. Gangsta Boo “Kill, Kill, Kill, Murder, Murder, Murder” (1998)
13. Koopsta Knicca “Stash Pot” (1994)
14. Three Six Mafia “Da Summa (Remix)” (1995)
15. I-20 f/ Three 6 Mafia “Hennesy & Hydro” (2004)
16. Three 6 Mafia f/ Young Buck, 8Ball & MJG “Stay High” (2005)
17. Indo G f/ Gangsta Boo “Remember Me Ballin” (1998)
18. Project Pat f/ La Chat & Three 6 Mafia “Chickenhead” (2001)
19. Frayser Boy “I Had To Get’m” (2003)
20. Lord Infamous “Where’s Da Bud” (1994)
21. Lil Wyte “Got’m Lookin'” (2007)
22. Project Pat “Nine To Yo Dome” (1994)
23. Lil Fly f/ DJ Paul” Break Da Law ’93″ (1993)
24. Three 6 Mafia f/ Kingpin Skinny Pimp “Live by Yo Rep” (1995)
25. K-Rock, Tha Kaze & Three 6 Mafia “Smoked Out, Loced Out” (1998)
26. Triple Six Mafia “Funky Town” (1994)
27. Project Pat “North, North” (2001)
28. Juicy J “A Zip And A Double Cup” (2011)
29. UGK f/ Three 6 Mafia “International Players Anthem” (2007)
30. Three 6 Mafia “Tear Da Club Up” (1995)
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