Project Pat

Of the many hardcore rappers to emerge from Memphis during the late '90s, Project Pat stood tall amid his peers. His affiliation with the <a href="spotify:artist:26s8LSolLfCIY88ysQbIuT">Three 6 Mafia</a> 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 <a href="spotify:artist:26s8LSolLfCIY88ysQbIuT">Three 6 Mafia</a> founder <a href="spotify:artist:5gCRApTajqwbnHHPbr2Fpi">Juicy J</a>) made his mark on much of America with a hit song of his own a year later, "Chickenhead." The song -- which features production by <a href="spotify:artist:5gCRApTajqwbnHHPbr2Fpi">Juicy J</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2ledyuziz6YjLK5Dw483Oc">DJ Paul</a> 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, <a href="spotify:artist:5gCRApTajqwbnHHPbr2Fpi">Juicy J</a>, co-founded influential Memphis hardcore rap group <a href="spotify:artist:26s8LSolLfCIY88ysQbIuT">Three 6 Mafia</a> during the early '90s. Though never an official member of the group, Pat affiliated himself with <a href="spotify:artist:26s8LSolLfCIY88ysQbIuT">the Mafia</a>, appearing on such albums as Crazyndalazdayz (1998) and <a href="spotify:artist:0AAfOtcrctNWvDpe2AKB1M">Indo G</a>'s Angel Dust (1998). A year later, Pat recorded a solo album of his own for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hypnotize+Minds%22">Hypnotize Minds</a>/<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Loud%22">Loud</a>, 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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Loud%22">Loud</a>. Next came Pat's high-profile appearance on <a href="spotify:artist:26s8LSolLfCIY88ysQbIuT">Three 6 Mafia</a>'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 <a href="spotify:artist:3ppZNqihWOzuH4A0f4KmeP">Gangsta Boo</a>'s position as the token female member of <a href="spotify:artist:26s8LSolLfCIY88ysQbIuT">Three 6 Mafia</a>. The song pitted the two against one another in typical Dirty South style: La' Chat speaking poorly of Pat while he called 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'd been on parole for aggravated robbery. Meanwhile, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Loud%22">Loud</a> 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 <a href="spotify:artist:26s8LSolLfCIY88ysQbIuT">Three 6 Mafia</a> bridged the four-year gap before Crook by da Book: The Fed Story (2006) arrived, followed by Walkin' Bank Roll (2007) on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Koch%22">Koch</a>. His 2009 effort, Real Recognize Real, was his first for major-label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Asylum%22">Asylum</a>. The album featured the hit single "Keep It Hood" with special guest <a href="spotify:artist:0t5qZrvVCo9YIUT87SQrTn">OJ da Juiceman</a>. His seventh set, Loud Pack, arrived in 2011. <a href="spotify:artist:5gCRApTajqwbnHHPbr2Fpi">Juicy J</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:26s8LSolLfCIY88ysQbIuT">Three 6 Mafia</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1sBkRIssrMs1AbVkOJbc7a">Rick Ross</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1382YT9VvGN6Pxu5PabehZ">Brisco</a> made appearances on the album, which was released on his own label, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Project+Records%22">Project Records</a>. A Mista Don't Play sequel, Everythangs Money, was issued in 2015 on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22E1+Music%22">E1 Music</a>. Once again featuring verses and production by <a href="spotify:artist:5gCRApTajqwbnHHPbr2Fpi">Juicy J</a>, Mista Don't Play 2 peaked in the Top 50 on the Billboard rap chart. Over the next year, the rapper maintained a prolific output, turning out four mixtapes under his Street God series, followed in September 2017 by his ninth proper album, M.O.B., which featured further appearances from <a href="spotify:artist:5gCRApTajqwbnHHPbr2Fpi">Juicy J</a> as well as from <a href="spotify:artist:3HiuzBlSW7pGDXlSFMhO2g">Young Dolph</a>. This was followed in 2018 by a pair of collaborative albums: King Shit Only with <a href="spotify:artist:799zjc94grOC9qOD3om9aM">K-Bird</a> and Memphis Legends with Lil Whyte and Kholebeatz. Early 2019 saw the release of Lean and Cookies with <a href="spotify:artist:1sPpJhevOYz54gNgeh2LaV">Keak da Sneak</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7wcHMGR7dRkkqgKPBD0Pxt">Kafani</a>. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi