Three 6 Mafia may not have released an album in a decade, but the long-running group’s influence only grows with time. Its classics, or those by its extended family of artists, have been sampled or interpolated in tracks by Travis Scott, Cardi B, ASAP Ferg, J. Cole, G-Eazy, Rae Sr more.
So when DJ Paul’s rep reached out to Complex to make a big announcement about the future of the group, we were all ears. We got Paul on the phone while he was in between “practicing minimalism” by throwing out or donating a bunch of old stuff and putting the finishing touches on the new mixtape by his nephews’ group Seed of 6ix, and he gave us the scoop. Juicy J, Paul’s Three 6 cohort with whom he had alternately been publicly fighting and planning a reunion for years, had “resigned” from the group.
“Me and him had a conversation maybe four months back,” Paul explained. “What he told me was, ‘I’m done with Three 6 Mafia and I’m just gonna keep moving forward with my solo stuff.’ His solo stuff has been successful, so I wasn’t tripping out. Everyone has seen it coming. Me and him haven’t worked together in years. The last album we brought out together was in 2008, and it was called Last 2 Walk, because it was the last two to walk from a group of six. I had to respect his decision, and I wish him the best on his journey. I know it’ll be good for him. It’s been good for him already.”
WHAT HE TOLD ME WAS, ‘I’M DONE WITH THREE 6 MAFIA.’ – DJ PAUL
The other former group members, Paul explained, were not consulted on this, since they were no longer part of the project. Crunchy Black backed this up when Complex reached out. “I haven’t talked to nobody about it,” Crunchy said. “I guess they was keeping it a secret, and now they’re gonna let it out. They’re grown men… I’m not trying to be in the mix of what Paul and Juicy got going on.”
Paul wanted to make the resignation public so that the group’s supporters, who continue to hold out hope for a reunion, would know the truth.
“It’s time to tell the fans, because they keep asking,” he elaborated. “They need to know. There ain’t no use in us playing like it’s going to happen one day.”
And there is plenty of interest. There have been, according to Paul, offers for reunion concerts in recent years that would pay $250,000 or more.