Project Pat

Project Pat
Background information
Birth name	Patrick Houston
Born	February 2, 1972 (1972-02-02)
Origin	Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	1994–present
Labels	D Brady Investments, Asylum, Koch, Columbia, Loud, Relativity, Prophet
Associated acts	Three 6 Mafia
Website	http://www.projectpat.net/

Patrick Houston, better known as Project Pat is an American rapper originating from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the older brother of Juicy J, co-founder of the Three 6 Mafia.

Project Pat broke onto the mainstream scene after providing the hook for Three 6 Mafia's hit "Sippin' on Some Sizzurp" in 2000 and released his breakthrough album Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin', the most successful album ever for an independent artist on the Hypnotize Minds label, the next year. In 2001, he was arrested for parole violation after a pair of revolvers were discovered in his vehicle during a traffic stop. That March, he was sentenced to four years in prison on two counts of a felon in possession of a firearm. His third album Layin' Da Smack Down was released during Pat's incarceration. In late 2009, Project Pat began attempting to start up a new record label called D-Brady Ent. His latest album, Loud Pack, was released in 2011.

Rap career

Rap music had long been a part of Pat's life before he soared to national fame in the early 2000s. His brother, Juicy J, co-founded influential Memphis hardcore rap group Three 6 Mafia during the early '90s. Though never an official member of the group, Pat affiliated himself with the Mafia, appearing on such albums as CrazyNDaLazDayz (1998) and Indo G's Angel Dust (1998). A year later, Pat recorded a solo album of his own for Hypnotize Minds/Loud, Ghetty Green. Though the solo debut didn't propel Pat to superstar status, it did establish him within the growing Dirty South scene, and his follow-up album, Murderers & Robbers (2000), did much the same; though this second album was released independently rather than through Loud. Next came Pat's high-profile appearance on Three 6 Mafia's "Sippin' on Some Syrup," and when that song became a huge hit, the stage was set for one of his own. That hit would be "Chickenhead," a song also featuring La Chat, the successor to Gangsta Boo's position as the token female member of Three 6 Mafia. The song pitted the two against one another in typical Dirty South style: La Chat talking badly about Pat, he calling her a "chickenhead."

Pat's longtime legal skirmishes then began to catch up with him. During the interim period following the success of "Chickenhead," Pat struggled with legal problems stemming from a January 2001 parole violation, when police pulled him over for speeding and discovered two revolvers. On March 13 of that same year, a federal jury found him guilty of two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He had been on parole for aggravated robbery. Meanwhile, Loud continually pushed back the release date for Pat's fourth album, Layin' da Smack Down, until it finally arrived in the summer of 2002. Mixtape appearances and work with Three 6 Mafia bridged the four-year gap before Crook by da Book: The Fed Story (2006) arrived, followed by Walkin' Bank Roll (2007) on Koch. His 2009 effort Real Recognize Real was his first for the major label Asylum. The album featured the hit single "Keep It Hood" with special guest OJ da Juiceman.

In 2011 Project Pat was featured in the film Rhyme and Punishment a documentary that chronicles Rap artists who have done jail time. The film features Project Pat in interviews where he talks about his arrests and time spent in jail.

Discography

• 1999: Ghetty Green
• 2000: Murderers & Robbers (collection of earlier recordings)
• 2001: Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin'
• 2002: Layin' da Smack Down
• 2006: Crook by da Book: The Fed Story
• 2007: Walkin' Bank Roll
• 2009: Real Recognize Real
• 2011: Loud Pack
• 2012: Mista Don't Play 2

External links

• Project Pat at IMDB
• Project Pat website