We said it over five years ago: all of Three 6 Mafia’s records sound like a black License to Ill. Similar 808 beats, same themes: freaky intercourse, substance abuse, and debauched partying. In a southern context, DJ Paul and Juicy J’s production, coupled with their infectious club chants, is also said to be one of the origins of crunk. But what truly sets it apart is its slow, hypnotic pace and frightening undertones. Basically, every Three 6 song—which incidentally only gets released if it receives the approval of the enigmatic and bloodshot-eyed dancer Crunchy Blac—is designed to make you dance slow, scream loud, and shit in your pants, all at once.

Vice: Three 6 beats are buck, but they’re dark at the same time.
Crunchy Blac: It’s street darkness. It ain’t got nuthin’ to do with no devil worship. It’s just, you know, we like to be more street than anybody else. We like to be a little harder and a little bit darker, like a lot of bass or, you know, scary sounds to go with the raps. You see what I’m sayin’?

What about that kind of darkness appeals to you? What role does darkness play in your music?
DJ Paul: We dark.

How so?
DJ Paul: We dark people—we niggers.

Oh. OK.
Juicy J: No, we just like the evil image. The darkness. The whole thing.

Right. I remember back when you were called the Tear the Club Up Thugs, your magazine ads had all kinds of blood and shit, you know?
DJ Paul: Before that man, when it first started off, me and Lord Infamous—that’s my brother—we was in a group together called the Serial Killers.

I’ve never been to Memphis before. Is it a scary place or something?
Crunchy Blac: They pretty cool in Memphis. They show you some love if you come from somewhere else. But if you go to the wrong part, yeah, it’s scary as hell.

What would be the wrong part?
Crunchy Blac: South Memphis, North Memphis.

That’s everything.
Crunchy Blac: If you go to South Memphis there ain’t really no good parts unless it’s on South Parkway. There’s a couple record stores there. And then if you’re in North Memphis, there ain’t no parts for you to be in.

If I were to come down there anyway, what would I want to do?
Juicy J: You would want to go to the strip clubs and get some barbecue.
DJ Paul: Yep.
Juicy J: That’s what Memphis is about: pork and women.

Pork and women? Sometimes at the same time?
Juicy J: Pork and women.

What do you do back in Memphis on Halloween?
Crunchy Blac: It’s so crazy in Memphis, man, some people put stuff in candy. So we don’t really let our kids roam, like Halloween-style. We probably throw a big party somewhere for the kids. Folks be crazy these days. They put stuff in the candy and try to hurt your kids.
DJ Paul: In Memphis, on Halloween, everybody throw eggs. They get like 12 or 13 cartons of eggs, throw ’em.
Juicy J: Memphis love Halloween. You know, we was the robber capital of the whole country so we need a reason to wear masks and get away with it.

If you had to pick out a Halloween costume for yourself right now, what do you think you would go for?
Crunchy Blac: The Grim Reaper.
Juicy J: If I was going to go trick-or-treating right now for real, I’d get dressed up in all black. I’d wear all black, man. All black with a black Jason mask. I got one of them at the house.

You guys make movies. Have you ever thought of making a horror movie?
Crunchy Blac: We’ve thought about it. We have a new movie called Cleanup Men. Then we going to work on a couple more like Choices 3, The Return of the Big Cat, and The Streets of Memphis. There will be a little scary stuff in Streets of Memphis.
DJ Paul: I want to make a real horror movie, but we don’t know how to act that good. You really gotta know how to act to play like you gettin’ killed.

What’s your favorite horror movie?
Juicy J: Texas Chainsaw.

The original one, right? What’d you think of the remake?
DJ Paul: I liked the remake!

Yeah, but the original was better because it looked like a real home movie or something.
Juicy J: Yeah, yeah. That’s what made it better. It was dark. It was cheap.

Crunchy Blac, what would you say is your role in the group?
Crunchy Blac: I’m the dancer, I’m the backer-upper, I’m just me, man. Everybody got a role and my role is I’m the gutter one, watching everybody’s back. I can’t do nothin’ fake. I can’t do no pretending.

In the “Stay Fly” video, Juicy J you have this shirt on that I really like. It’s black and it’s got green skulls on it.
Juicy J: Yeah, I’m gonna put it on eBay. You want to buy it?

Maybe. How much is it gonna go for?
Juicy J: We’re starting the bidding at $1,500.

Where’d it come from? It looks like some weird bootleg Misfits shirt.
Juicy J: I don’t know. My stylist guy, he found it from somewhere.

WHOADIE ALLEN
Three 6 Mafia’s new album The Known Unknowns is in stores now. Its lead single, “Stay Fly,” is probably the best piece of music to come out in 2005.