dimanche 22 Déc 2013, 17h50m
Lord Infamous, Three 6 Mafia's founding member and most gifted rapper, passed away yesterday. I would be remiss if I did not do a journal entry in memoriam.
Three 6 Mafia is my favorite musical group of all time. Period. Ever since I spent one Friday night riding in my buddy Brent Hogue's car bumping "Weak Azz Bitch" back in 2002, the Mafia has lived with me as an eternal trademark of how I define myself as a human being. I ride with Three 6 Mafia like I ride with the University of Tennessee Volunteers sports teams: they are the representatives of the parts of my life where I spent my formative years, Memphis and UT. My love for Triple Six is unconditional. They are the musical embodiment of Memphis, Tennessee. When I was up in Pittsburgh missing my hometown, I bumped some Three 6 and was instantly transported back to the 901. When my friends dared criticize the group, I stormed to their defense like they were my very blood. And when I heard that Lord Infamous passed away yesterday, I felt a loss like I have never felt before as a music lover.
Infamous is my all-time favorite rapper. If the essence of Three 6 Mafia could be exemplified by a core member, it was Ricky Dunnigan. He was the most unhinged member of the posse, the group's most vital member.
The Scarecrow was so Memphis, in that he seemed touched by doom. He was the group's most talented member, and yet he was last member of the Posse to get kicked out before the group hit it big in 2005 with Most Known Unknowns. As great an album as that was, it will never be what it could have been because the Scarecrow wasn't on it. In a sense, it's appropriate that Three 6 finally crossed over after Infamous left–he was what gave the group its anti-commercial edge. Put Infamous on "Stay Fly" and that shit never makes the Billboard Top 10.
As I alluded to in my writeup of Mystic Stylez, there are really three critical members in Three 6 Mafia. Obviously, DJ Paul remains the foundation of the group, as both its founder and purveyor of the sound and style that the group would perfect over the course of its career. Juicy J brings the Star Power, the irrepressible charismatic force that would lend the group to commercial success. Finally there's Lord Infamous, the member who propelled the group’s lyrical sophistication and overall malevolence to a level that separated it from the rest of the pack and made the group what it was. Infamous made you buy what Three 6 was selling.
Infamous originally wasn’t my favorite member of Triple Six. That would be Juicy J. Back in high school, in my early years of listening to the group, I couldn’t get enough of the Juiceman’s swaggering, electric flow. But in college, as I delved deeper into the group’s catalogue, I began to sense that the true backbone of the group was the Scarecrow. Infamous never phones in a verse. The guy only operated in one gear. Even his more laid back verses, such as his scene-stealing spot on “Oxycotin,” are untouchable. Scarecrow was the lyrical enforcer. I’ve yet to hear anyone who was better at swooping in on a track and taking it to the next level. (SEE: “Mystic Stylez”…dear god).
Lord Infamous was the group’s legitimate threat. To this day, the Cult of Personality Ricky Dunnigan cultivated over the course of his career with Three 6 remains untouched. Of course he was the first member of the group to pass on. The Scarecrow was the only member of the Six who seemed completely unchecked, reveling in his own psychosis, perpetually on the verge of a murder spree. Lyrically, Infamous gave Three 6 Mafia its artistic merit. If I can trace my love of Three 6 back to its origin, it would be when I first heard the Scarecrow’s jaw-dropping verse on “Who Run It” over the beat-drop. Just a paragon of rap excellence.
I could go on forever about the Scarecrow, but I’ll end this journal entry with my 6 favorite performances from the greatest Memphis rapper who ever lived. I’ll repeat that: Lord Infamous is the greatest Memphis rapper of all-time. End of story. Rest in Peace Scarecrow—keep kicking in doors on the other side.
6. Mystic Stylez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00IhxUsK3k
5. Gotta Touch Em Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qt4byHi7YM
4. Where Da Bud At
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yGbev5kljE
3. “In Da Game.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my6d91jFA4k
2. “Anyone Out There?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6scVbHFgnQ
1. Who Run It
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUfu_dOTbDI
Edit: I somehow forgot to include perhaps the greatest Infamous track of all-time on my list: "Triple Six Clubhouse." Make no mistake, this is the defining Lord Infamous track, if not the defining Three 6 Mafia track. Anyone who knows Memphis Rap loves this song. "Triple Six Clubhouse" and Lord Infamous are Memphis, forever and always.