Three 6 Mafia: Last 2 Walk : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

It's getting easier out there for a pimp. On their first album since they added an Oscar statuette to the gold-plated goblets in their trophy case, these Memphis rappers are in a triumphant mood. "I showed 'em, I showed 'em," bellow DJ Paul and Juicy J in "I Told 'Em." On Last 2 Walk, every track is compelling, with synthesized strings and the usual depth-sounder bass lines inflated with reverb into miniature symphonies. Recently, MCs Crunchy Black and Lord Infamous quit Three 6, leaving the group in the hands of its longtime producers, Paul and Juicy. And that's how it should be: As rappers, Three 6 have always been pro forma, bragging blandly about drugs, sex and cars, but their beats can be revelatory. The stunner is the well-nigh-avant-garde "First 48," powered by rising and descending piano ostinatos — it's Rachmaninoff chopped and screwed. And Three 6 can do pop, too: The club-bumper single "Lolli Lolli" features an infectious T-Pain-style vocal refrain and Juicy J bragging about picking up women by name-dropping — what else? — his Oscar-winning song.