| DJ Paul | |
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DJ Paul (back) performing with Three 6 Mafia bandmate Juicy J. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Beauregard |
| Born | 1977 |
| Origin | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper, record producer |
| Labels | Columbia/Sony Music (2003-Present) Loud (2000-2003) Relativity (1997-2000) Prophet (1995-1997) |
| Associated acts | Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat, Juicy J, Lil Wyte, Lord Infamous |
Paul Beauregard, better known by his stage name DJ Paul, is an American rapper and record producer from Memphis, Tennessee.[1] He is one half of the current Memphis-based rap group Three 6 Mafia. He is also the half brother of former Three 6 Mafia member Lord Infamous. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp".DJ Paul founded Scale-A-Ton Entertainment in 2009.
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DJ Paul (Paul Beauregard) started out as a DJ, producer, and rapper in the early 90's. He was one-half of the duo The Serial Killaz, in which his older half-brother Lord Infamous (Ricky Dunigan) was the other half. They began by putting out self-recorded tapes in their neighborhood, school, and local shops. "Portrait Of A Serial Killa" was their first tape, released in 1992. Also, while putting out tapes with his brother, DJ Paul also put out numerous solo mixtapes (ex: classics such as "Volume 12 (Pts. 1 and 2)", "Volume 15: For You Niggaz Wit' Anna", and "Volume 16: 4 Da Summa of '94").
DJ Paul built his rep as one of the best DJ-producers on the South side of Memphis, and was hearing how another DJ/artist/producer - Juicy J (Jordan Houston) - was garnering buzz on the North side of Memphis. They met up and listened to each other's sound; noticing that they had a lot of similar interests, they decided to merge their sound and crew members to form the super-group The Backyard Posse (later known as Triple Six Mafia). DJ Paul and Juicy J soon began producing dark, eerie tracks driven by bass-heavy beats and haunting sounds, and invited numerous Backyard Posse members to rap over the beats with them. They released the resulting tracks locally as Triple Six Mafia; years later these recordings would resurface as re-releases.
In 1994, Triple Six Mafia released the classic underground album "Smoked Out Loced Out". The album was laden with much hardcore content, such as violence, heavy drug use, and sexually explicit lyrics. Triple Six Mafia received a great response from listeners of this tape. In 1995, the loose collective changed its name to Three 6 Mafia and self-released its debut album, Mystic Stylez. The album became an underground success, and Three 6 Mafia, in turn, signed a distribution deal with Relativity for its Hypnotized Minds imprint. Throughout the late '90s, Juicy J and DJ Paul produced numerous albums a year for Hypnotize Minds and capitalized on the lucrative distribution deal. By the end of the decade, the two producers were at the helm of an empire, having extended their brand to alarming lengths, culminating with their commercial breakthrough album, When the Smoke Clears, which debuted at number six on Billboard's album chart. He became a great inspiration for people in the rap community.
Together with production partner Juicy J, DJ Paul played an important role in the South's rise to prominence within the once East- and West Coast-dominated rap industry. Behind the duo's leadership, Three 6 Mafia rose from an underground phenomenon in Memphis to a nationally recognized rap empire, spinning off numerous solo albums for the collective's many members in the mid- to late '90s. DJ Paul raps as a member of Three 6 Mafia and contributes rhymes to most of the albums he produces for such artists as Project Pat, Gangsta Boo, La Chat, and Tear Da Club Up Thugs. Moreover, DJ Paul ventured into filmmaking with Choices, a straight-to-video film starring most of the Three 6 Mafia collective. He was also the winner of VH1's Famous Food out of 7 other celebrities in 2011.
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