Classic Day – Deep Fried Skins

Two years after the glory that was Ghetty Green, Memphis prodigy child Project Pat flashes gold smiles and pistols tucked with Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin’. A combination of the phonk that Three 6 Mafia made to be iconic and a flare that few could match; Project Pat is on fire through the 20-track LP.

Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin’ spans just barely over an hour and opens with the now instantly recognizable beat, “Chickenhead.” Project Pat doesn’t waste much time using DJ Paul and Juicy J production that features everything from rising stadium-style synths and chicken-style vocal “bawk-bawk”’s to fill the trunk-rattling instrumentation.

While almost comedic at first, “Chickenhead” has more of these moments that knock the neck and become more of a progression toward storytelling. While most know the meaning of Chickenhead from the Chappelle Show skit “I Know Black People,” Project Pat does a perfect description of his own.

He illustrates, “Bald head skally-wag, ain’t got no hair in the back. Gelled up weaved up, yo hair is messed up. Need to get bout a hustle mission, hit up on a loot run to beautician.” Later, Project Pat recruits La Chat to fill the chickenhead role and describes, “Yeah you like my outfit, don’t even fake deal. I thought you said you had your girl on the light bill.”

Project Pat then engages this conversation within the verse that plays out like a bickering couple. He responds, “Always in my face talkin’ this and that, girl I had to buy some rims for the Cadillac.”

La Chat responds, “You riding clean but ya gas tank is on E, be stepping out ain’t no decent shoes on ya feet.” The back-and-forth banter between Project Pat and La Chat creates this fantastic ideation and dissection of how Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin’ can form a cross between creating even flows into each track with minimal signs of forced segue.

The transitions, skits, and layout of the record push the production and writing on the music to be a stunning standout, especially toward the latter half of Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin’.

Each track that enters the frame becomes better than the last, “Cheese And Dope” bumps right into “Whole Lotta W**D,” giving “Don’t Save Her” this southern bounce and charm as “If You Ain’t From My Hood” can be this Memphis anthem.

Focusing on something that is a little bit closer to a sequel, “Break Da Law 2001” is a reconnection of Three 6 Mafia as a complete project on Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin’. Like a phonk-headed Voltron, “Break Da Law 2001” features DJ Paul, Juicy J, Crunchy Black, and Lord Infamous.

With a hook that shouts, “Break da law, we ain’t playin’! Break da law, we ain’t playin’!” and verses ripping the track open like a rack of ribs; “Break Da Law 2001” can be nearly the identical midpoint for Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin’.

Each verse that follows becomes a harder and harder illustration of affirmative destruction. DJ Paul starts the slaughter off and has one of the strongest opening lines that comes off as simple but effective. He illustrates, “We ain’t playing young nigga who the fuck I said we playin? We just ‘bout to kill yo’ ass and it’s already planned.”

Juicy J follows and uses a similar amount of search and destroy attitude when facing the audience. Behind the major chords on a busted piano as the backdrop, Juicy J describes, “I would let you hit this crown, but you bitches can’t behave. I would let you hit this fire but you bitches smokin’ safe.” He then goes on to add, “Better catch up with yo kind, ’cause you tip me from your grave when a nigga catch you slippin’ it’s that beam in yo face.”

Both Crunchy Black and Lord Infamous have a similar stance in their verses where they work together almost and segue without using the hook between them. Crunchy ends their verse describing, “You gotta attitude, now watch me use my tool. I lock and fuckin’ load and let that motherfucker loose,” to where Lord Infamous picks up the pieces left by Crunchy Black.

He shouts, “I know this nigga who got punked out after every class, he was a bitch in school and now he tote a gun and a badge. Put on a uniform and now he think he super bad. Man fuck your vest, you still get laid to rest under the grass.”

Finally, the man of the hour Project Pat brings in the longest verse on “Break Da Law 2001” and sends off the listener to the ether. He describes, “you get stomped in yo mug, when I shoot, then I peel out. Right before that happen I’mma tear yo fuckin’ grill out. Beat you bitches down til you covered in your own blood. Shoot a couple of rounds from my house, ain’t no fuckin love.”

Pat’s verse here becomes this sadistic hellscape and embraces more of that aggressive, belligerent nature that Three 6 Mafia made to be an iconic trait. Truly one of the best tracks on the record is the formation on “Y’all Ni**az Ain’t No Killaz, Y’all Ni**az Some Hoes” where Project Pat controls the microphone like a harsh overlord.

Opening with manslaughter, Pat illustrates, “You can run but you can’t hide, I won’t let you slide. Step with gun, get your mind right or a homicide. Shall be done TKO style, thug life is wild.” The production which is what I can only imagine would spawn if Beethoven was given an MPC, the boom-bap of marching style snares works incredibly well over the sporadic violin strings.

The beauty of Project Pat on his solo projects especially is this mastery in verse structure and “Y’all Ni**az Ain’t No Killaz, Y’all Ni**az Some Hoes” is a diamond in this rough for weaving in the grimy top layer of lyrics and appearance but the production underneath is actually something that is both fantastical and provoking in movement.

The continuous theme for Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin’ shows the choices of production that Project Pat works out. Over the 20 tracks, Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin’ is a diamond display platform that turns the Memphis landscape into something similar to a gold rush for Project Pat.

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