DJ Paul On Three Six Mafia's Impact, Lord Infamous' Influence & More

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DJ Paul breaks down Three Six Mafia's influence, Lord Infamous, drugs and more.

You can't deny Three Six Mafia's influnece. From their flow to production and everything in between, Three Six Mafia shaped the way a lot of music in today's world sounds. We recently caught up with DJ Paul to talk about how their sound came about, Lord Infamous' triplet flow, their influence on today's music, production and more.

During our interview with DJ Paul, we talked to him about the correlation between artists today and what Three Six Mafia was doing during their prime.

"Three Six Mafia was before it's time. Twenty years later, you got those same songs that we made back then are hit songs right now like A$AP Ferg's "Plain Jane." You know that, 'Slob on da knob.' You know, there's a lot of songs out there like that," he told us.

He also told us about his eclectic influences that helped him create his unique sound. Among the artists that helped form his sound were NWA, Geto Boyz and LL Cool J. However, that's not where his influences end.

"I grew up listening to a lot of 80's Rock. Like I'm a big Van Halen fan. You know, 80's pop. Duran, Duran, Tears For Fears. You know, so that's what I really listen to on the daily," he said.

He also talks about how the dark themes in their music came about. He says that before he was a rapper, his father made him take organ lessons which had a role in the way his production came about. But his fascination with horror movies and serial killers is what really gauged the Three Six Mafia sound.

"I was also into the horror movies and all of that. Big horror fan. I was into serial killers and all that. Our first group was called the Serial Killers, me and Lord Infamous." He said

He also talks to us about the late-Lord Infamous' triplet flow that subsequently has dominated the sound of hip hop today. He says that about 99% of the flows that you hear in music these days derive from Lord Infamous.

"[The triplet flow] was Lord Infamous' thing. You know, all those tongue twisters... he killed that shit. Maybe 99% of flows you hear out here these days came from Lord Infamous. Rest In Peace Lord Infamous, but yeah, it came from him," he said.

Throughout the interview, he also talks about Three Six' being independent, the influence that drugs had on his writing, production techniques and more. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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