There's nothing like an arrest record to bolster a rapper's street credibility, and at the time of the long-delayed 2002 release of
Project Pat's fourth album,
Layin' da Smack Down, the Memphis gangsta was facing parole violation charges due to a weapons arrest. Although his imprisonment might have limited promotional opportunities for the album, the
Three 6 Mafia affiliate's notoriety certainly didn't hurt
Layin' da Smack Down as much as
Project Pat's own limited abilities. The home of
Elvis Presley and Graceland,
Stax Records and
Sun Studios, Memphis also has some of the meanest streets in the Southeast, easily the equal of L.A.'s Compton or Houston's infamous projects. It's from the dangerous Memphis that surrounds the shellshocked Hollywood Avenue neighborhood that produced
Project Pat (aka
Patrick Houston) and
Three 6 Mafia, and it's from this crime-plagued area of the Bluff City that
Project Pat draws his lyrical inspiration. Whereas
Project Pat's previous albums, such as
Mista Don't Play and
Ghetty Green, offered their fair share of misogynist rhymes,
Layin' da Smack Down revels in demeaning, pornographic sex. When not concentrating on his own carnal pleasures,
Project Pat offers the usual lyrical litany of drugs, crime, and random violence that dominates
hardcore rap, the rapper obviously running out of fresh perspectives on the subject matter. Although producers
Juicy J (
Pat's brother) and
DJ Paul bring a bouncy and bright sound to
Layin' da Smack Down,
Pat's material lacks the mix of intelligence, humor, and menace that fuels the best
Three 6 Mafia songs.
Layin' da Smack Down shows
Project Pat to be a less-charismatic, more thuggish alternative to other
Dirty South artists such as
Eightball or
OutKast, one of the slighter talents in the
Three 6 Mafia stable. ~ Rev. Keith A. Gordon
