DJ Paul

DJ Paul
DJ Paul (back) performing with Three 6 Mafia bandmate Juicy J
Background information
Birth name	Paul Beauregard
Born	(1977-01-13) January 13, 1977 Memphis, Tennessee
Genres	Hip hop, gangsta rap, crunk, horrorcore
Occupations	DJ, rapper, record producer, songwriter
Years active	1988-present
Labels	Hypnotize Minds (1994-present) Prophet (1995-1997) Relativity (1997-2000) Loud (2000-2003) Scale-A-Ton (2008-present)
Associated acts	Three 6 Mafia, Juicy J, Lord Infamous, Project Pat, Lil Wyte, Young Buck, Ya Boy, Drumma Boy, Da Mafia 6ix, Yelawolf
Website	Official website

Paul Beauregard (born January 13, 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Paul, is an American rapper, record producer, DJ, songwriter and entrepreneur from Memphis, Tennessee.^[1] He is a founding member of hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia and the half-brother of late rapper Lord Infamous.

DJ Paul started his career in the late 1980s as a DJ and released a number of solo tapes, as well as three collaboration albums with Lord Infamous as The Serial Killaz. After meeting Juicy J, the three created the group Three 6 Mafia which achieved national success in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Their 2000 album, When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1, debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum, later followed by Da Unbreakables in 2003 and Most Known Unknown in 2005, both of which were commercially successful. In 2006, DJ Paul and Juicy J won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" from the film Hustle & Flow. Paul has also released three solo albums, and created the soundtracks to two movies. He and the rest of Three 6 Mafia are known as the creators of the crunk music style.

Apart from music, DJ Paul has taken part in a variety of business ventures, including film making and real estate. He founded his own record label Scale-A-Ton Entertainment, co-owns the fashion wear line Dangerus / Skandulus, has a collection of BBQ seasonings and is the spokesman for a legal version of the alcoholic drink Sizzurp.

Music career

1988–1992: Career beginnings

In 1988, DJ Paul started his career as a DJ in Memphis club "380 Beale". At first he wanted to focus on DJing instead of rapping.^[2] In 1989, he formed the duo The Serial Killaz, together with his older half-brother Lord Infamous.^[3] Paul served as the producer, making beats, which Infamous would rap over.^[2] The two did not have any equipment, so they used to rent local DJ Just Born's studio with the money their father gave them. Paul would play and scratch records on his mother's record player when she was not home. They released self-recorded tapes in their neighborhood, school, and local shops.^[3] Their first tape, Portrait Of A Serial Killa, was released in 1992.^[4] The following year, the duo released another tape called Come with Me 2 Hell.^[5]

DJ Paul started his career in Memphis, Tennessee.

DJ Paul eventually bought studio equipment, consisting of a keyboard, a turntable, and a four-track recorder. He started making mixtapes with popular songs and selling them at his high school. Later he started including songs of his affiliated rappers on the tapes as well, in order to promote them. Eventually, he began making mixtapes consisting only of original songs by himself and local artists. Paul claimed that Memphis DJs, such as himself, DJ Spanish Fly, DJ Squeeky and Juicy J created the modern format of mixtapes by including their original songs, instead of making compilations of other artists' music.^[2]

DJ Paul also released a number of solo tapes called Underground Volume 1 to Volume 16. He rose to prominence as a DJ and producer on the south side of Memphis, and was introduced to fellow producer Juicy J, who was also garnering buzz on the north side of the city. Together with Lord Infamous, they formed the group The Backyard Posse.^[6] DJ Paul and Juicy J soon began producing tracks, described as "dark, eerie ... driven by bass-heavy beats and haunting sounds."^[1] They changed their name to Triple Six Mafia, after a phrase Lord Infamous would use to refer to the group in their songs.^[7]

1993–2005: Three 6 Mafia and debut solo album

In 1994, Triple Six Mafia were joined by Koopsta Knicca and released the underground album Smoked Out Loced Out. Later the group acquired two more members, Gangsta Boo and Crunchy Black and changed its name again to Three 6 Mafia. In 1995, they self-released their debut studio album, Mystic Stylez. Following the album's success, Three 6 Mafia signed a major label deal with Relativity Records. They also started their own label Hypnotize Minds and signed a number of local artists, such as Project Pat, La Chat, Frayser Boy and Lil Wyte, among others. DJ Paul and Juicy J exclusively produced the whole albums by their artists, as well as Three 6 Mafia's releases. The group achieved commercial success with their 2000 album, When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1, which debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart and was eventually certified platinum by RIAA.

In 2002, DJ Paul released his debut solo studio album Underground Volume 16: For Da Summa. Most of the songs, originally featured on his 1994 mixtape Underground Volume 16: 4 Da Summa of '94, were remastered and some of the old featured artists were replaced with new ones from Hypnotize Minds, such as Frayser Boy and La Chat. The album peaked at number 127 at the Billboard 200.

Three 6 Mafia released two more commercially successful albums: Da Unbreakables in 2003 and Most Known Unknown in 2005, both peaking in top five of Billboard 200. They also created the soundtracks of the movies Choices and its sequel Choices II: The Setup. By 2006, Paul and Juicy were the only members of the group left.

2006–2012: Academy Award win, Scale-A-Ton and A Person of Interest

In 2006, DJ Paul and Juicy J won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" from the film Hustle & Flow. The song, which they co-wrote with HCP member Frayser Boy, was also ranked at number 80 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop".^[8]

After Three 6 Mafia released their 2008 album Last 2 Walk, the group had conflicts with their label Sony about their music style,^[9] which led DJ Paul and Juicy J to pursue other ventures and their solo careers.

In 2009, Paul released The Weigh In – his first mixtape since the Volume series in the early 1990s. A few months later he followed up with his second solo album Scale-A-Ton, released under Paul's newly founded label Scale-A-Ton Entertainment. The album was received well by critics, earning a positive review and an "Album pick" by AllMusic.^[10] In 2010, Paul released his second mixtape Too Kill Again, hosted by DJ Scream and DJ Whoo Kid. The mixtape features many upcoming and new Memphis artists such as Lion Heart, Thug Therapy, Partee and Miscellaneous. DJ Paul stated the tape was a preview to his upcoming album, also titled Too Kill Again, which however was never released. Instead, in 2011, Paul made a new collaboration mixtape with rapper Ya Boy and producer Lil Lody, called Pray For Forgiveness. A few months later Paul released a retail No-DJ version with bonus songs to iTunes.^[11][12]

In 2012, Paul announced he was working on an experimental dub-hop EP called A Person of Interest. Later he changed it into a full featured album, which was released on October 22. A Person of Interest was packed with a bonus DVD, including a self-titled short movie, music videos and behind the scenes footage. Paul released videos for a number of songs from the album, including "What I Look Like (W.I.L.L.)", "Wit Tha Shit", "Trap Back Jumpin", "E&J" and a remix of "I'm Dat Raw" with Snow Tha Product.^[13] Paul called A Person of Interest his favorite solo album, stating that he loved the production and the "raw" sound of the album.^[2]

2013–present: S.I.M. and Da Mafia 6ix

In early 2013, DJ Paul focused on performing as a DJ, and created a DJ duo, called S.I.M. (Sex is Mandatory). The group created a number of live sets, as well as remixes to songs, such as Just Blaze & Baauer's "Higher".^[2]

In late 2013, Paul and Lord Infamous were discussing creating a sequel to their 1993 album Come with Me 2 Hell, when the latter came with the idea to try and reunite the whole Three 6 Mafia crew. Infamous brought back Crunchy Black, Koopsta Knicca and Gangsta Boo, and the five of them reunited as "Da Mafia 6ix" with plans to release an album in 2014.^[14][15] On November 12, 2013, Da Mafia 6ix released their first mixtape 6ix Commandments. The tape was almost entirely produced by DJ Paul and featured Yelawolf, 8Ball & MJG, Krayzie Bone, Bizzy Bone, SpaceGhostPurrp and HCP affiliates Lil Wyte, Skinny Pimp and La Chat, among others.^[16] Juicy J and Project Pat also appeared as surprise guests on the posse song "Body Parts", being credited just as "& more" in the track listing.

DJ Paul collaborated on a mixtape titled Clash Of Da Titans with fellow Memphis producer Drumma Boy that was released on October 23, 2013,^[17] and on a free EP, called Black Fall, with rapper Yellawolf, which they put out for Halloween on October 31, 2013.^[18] On November 26, 2013, DJ Paul released Volume 16: The Original Masters, a remaster of his 1994 mixtape 4 Da Summer of '94.^[19]

Personal life

DJ Paul and Juicy J starred in MTV's 2007 reality show Adventures in Hollyhood, which showed Three 6 Mafia's move to Hollywood, California, following their Oscar win. The show also featured their personal assistants Computer and Big Triece, as well as Hypnotize Minds artists Project Pat and Lil Wyte.^[20] The series aired for eight episodes between April 5 and May 23, 2007, and hold a 100% audience rating at film site Rotten Tomatoes.^[21]

In 2011, DJ Paul starred in VH1's cooking show Famous Food together with seven other celebrities and eventually won the first place.^[22]

In a 2013 interview, Paul said he is getting three hours of sleep a day due to the amount of work he has to do in the variety of business ventures he has a part in. Describing his daily schedule, he said that he works with all of his companies during the day and records music during the night, stating that "I feel like if I'm not working, then I'm losing and I'm not really giving my life what I should be giving."^[18]

On December 20, 2013, his older brother, Lord Infamous, died from a heart attack at his mother's house in Memphis, Tennessee.

Business ventures

In 2001, DJ Paul and the rest of Three 6 Mafia created the straight-to-video film Choices, followed by a sequel Choices II: The Setup, which was released in 2005.^[23][24] In 2007, DJ Paul and Juicy J started their own fashion wear line titled "Dangerus / Skandulus". It was branded as the official Three 6 Mafia wear and includes T-shirts, hats, accessories and stickers.^[25] DJ Paul founded his own record label Scale-A-Ton Entertainment in 2009. He has released his last two albums under the label.

In 2012, DJ Paul launched a collection of BBQ seasonings called "DJ Paul BBQ". Paul initially created a BBQ rub seasoning, soon followed by a Smoked Out BBQ Sauce.^[26][27] In 2013, DJ Paul became the official spokesman for a new legal version of the alcoholic drink Sizzurp.^[28] As of 2013, Paul also owns a real estate company.^[18]

Legal issues

In an interview with Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club, Paul stated he has been arrested numerous times. He was sent to jail for the first time at the age of 17.^[29]

In 2006, a man from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, named Ramone Williams, filed a lawsuit against DJ Paul and other Three 6 Mafia members, claiming he has been severely beaten at a Three 6 Mafia concert when other fans followed the lyrics of the song "Let's Start a Riot" and attacked him. The man claimed he was hit with a chair, kicked and stomped numerous times. Three 6 Mafia asked for dismissal of the suit on a summary judgment motion.^[30] In October 2006, both sides settled the suit and Williams received financial compensation.^[31]

On June 8, 2012, a lawsuit was filed against DJ Paul and Juicy J for failing to appear in a concert which they were booked for. The suit claimed the two were booked for an April 2011 show in Orlando, Florida but never showed up. They also never returned a $9,000 advance payment they received for the performance. Paul and Juicy are demanded to pay $50,000 for economic loss, out-of-pocket expenses and loss of income and revenue.^[32]

In October 2012, few days before his third album was released, DJ Paul was arrested in New York when a Taser stun gun was found on him during a routine search. He was charged with misdemeanor and released shortly after.^[33] Paul commented on the arrest: "I honestly didn't know it was illegal. I thought it was at the same level as pepper spray."^[34] Paul pled guilty and was sentenced to 21 hours of community service.^[35]

Discography

Studio albums

• Underground Volume 16: For Da Summa (2002)
• Scale-A-Ton (2009)
• A Person of Interest (2012)
• Volume 16: The Original Masters (2013)

References

External links

• Official website
• DJ Paul's channel on YouTube
• DJ Paul at the Internet Movie Database