Three 6 Mafia

• When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 [Loud/Hypnotize Minds, 2000]
• Most Known Unknown [Hypnotize Minds/Sony Urban Music/Columbia, 2005] B-
• Last 2 Walk [Hypnotize Minds/Columbia, 2008] C

Consumer Guide Reviews:

When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 [Loud/Hypnotize Minds, 2000]

Most Known Unknown [Hypnotize Minds/Sony Urban Music/Columbia, 2005]
The pull of their gut-rumbling brew of dark keyb riffs and viscous rhythm under unison vocals isn't absolute, but it's there, distinct and original. Unfortunately for connoisseurs of the saturnine, however, it comes with rhymes that are part of the aesthetic experience. As a putative cocaine magnate, rival flava-of-the-year proprietor Young Jeezy enjoys privileges that include triumphalist fanfares, yes-man cheering sections, and a relatively abstract level of brutality. These Memphis lifers sell "street," eventuating in quite a bit of put-your-foot-up-they-ass, knock-the-black-off-your-ass, ransack-your-home, and rape-your-bitch-cause-she's-stacked. It isn't original to point out that the reality this worldview represents is a bully's reality, one that most of those who are stuck with it scheme to avoid. But originality isn't everything. Bully reality can be musically compelling, no question. But jones for it and you risk brutalizing yourself. B-

Last 2 Walk [Hypnotize Minds/Columbia, 2008]
It's easy out there for an Oscar winner, but you'd never know it from these entertainment moguls, who pretend or report that they're still investing in mayhem, misogyny and sales careers whose main drawback is that they can get you arrested. Case in point: Dat Dumbass Project Pat, who with three years in the pen behind him adds extra soupcons of brutality just in case Hollywood has turned Juicy J soft. Watch out, little brother. As Pat's fellow enforcer DJ Unk puts it, he loves having sex, but he'd rather get some head. C