Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin'

by M.F. DiBellaA charter member of Memphis' Hypnotize Camp Posse (along with Gangsta Boo and Three 6 Mafia), Project Pat is a skilled demonstrator of mid-South baller hip-hop. The Hypnotize Camp tends to market its releases in the manner of Master P's No Limit label and the Cash Money Millionaires but with much less gloss. With menacing beats (courtesy of DJ Paul and Juicy J) consisting of heavy, repetitive drum kicks and sinister high-hat snares, Pat takes drug-hustling rap into the same deranged dimension as his Memphis cohorts, Three 6 Mafia. This third release (second on a major label) is solid in places, but for anyone other than hardcore fans of the Memphis scene, Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin only stretches so far musically and lyrically. The often inaccessible vibe is probably how Pat and his North Memphis boys want it, for to truly understand the music would be to understand the complicated, seamy drug underworld that produces it. Southern pimp slang from rap's underbelly mixed with eerie low-end synth grooves is the way of the walk here. Strictly gangsta, Pat's unique flow combines a rapid Midwest cadence with a singsong Southern format. In the end with its sprawling number of tracks, it's best to hone in on a few of the standouts: "Life We Live," "If You Ain't From My Hood," "Break Da Law 2001," and "So High."