Given their flirtation with the occult early in the group’s career, their obviously number of the beast inspired name, and their theme from Halloween-sampling new single, “Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)” [click here to watch], it seems only right that our feature interview with Three 6 Mafia run on Friday the 13th

Timing has ironically always seemed to be the group’s forte, managing to score a gold or platinum plaque every couple years over the past decade like clockwork. And following their Academy Award-winning single, “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp,” Juicy J and DJ Paul (and then member Crunchy Black) scored the biggest commercial success of their career with two monster smash singles [the Willie Hutch-sampling “Stay Fly,” and “Poppin’ My Collar”] propelling their last full-length, 2005’s Most Known Unknown, to platinum status. Their own MTV sponsored reality TV show, Adventures In Hollyhood, soon followed and the group who had once crafted singles about tongue rings and sippin’ sizzurp for a largely cult audience had somehow become mainstream.

But even with the pressue to make their new album, Last 2 Walk, as commercially viable as its predecessor mounting, you would never know it in hearing the carefree (and mostly comical) replies Juicy and Paul gave to HipHopDX during our recent interview with the Tennessee twosome. And although the conversation did have one very serious moment regarding the usage of sizzurp in Hip Hop following the recent passing of Pimp C [click here to read], the guys showed they truly are relaxed and unconcerned about facing their uncertain commercial future, more interested in discussing lighter fare like having lunch with Paris Hilton or what kind of mischief their Hollyhood co-stars Computer and Triece have been getting into since the show wrapped.

HipHopDX: The first and most obvious question I have is where the hell have y’all been? It’s been like y’all guys disappeared off the face of the earth after “Doe Boy Fresh” dropped [in early 2007].
DJ Paul: We was doing some other things, man. We was producing our album and our other artists albums – Project Pat [click to read] dropped an album [Walkin' Bankroll last fall] and some other independent stuff [dropped]. But as far as Three 6 Mafia, we was just working on our album and some more TV and movie stuff.

DX: Wasn’t the album [initially] supposed to drop on the heels of that single and the first season of the TV.show [aired in spring of ‘07] though?
DP: Yeah, it was originally gonna drop after the TV show.

DX: But you’re just saying that y’all wasn’t done [recording the album] yet?
DP: Nah, we wasn’t done yet.

DX: And I heard y’all decided to stop doing Adventures In Hollyhood?
DP: Yeah, we had to focus on the music more. ‘Cause if we had did another season it was gonna drop during the time when we was [to] start back recording the album and it woulda been in the way.

DX: But what’s gon’ happen to Computer and Triece now? [Laughs]
DP: The same thing they was doing before: drinking and partying and kicking it.

DX: But that [show] was their meal ticket [Laughs].
DP: Actually it wasn’t, they was [just] our homeboys. Like, Computer right now flying around on a private jet with a bunch of white girls. So he alright.
Juicy J: And Triece is somewhere in the hood drinking him a fifth of Hennessy, so he alright.
DP: Yeah, ‘cause that’s what he been doing.

DX: [Laughs] And did I read correct that y’all trying to flip Hollyhood into like a movie?
DP: Yep. We gonna make a straight-to-DVD movie off of it.

DX: Y’all gonna try and do more TV?
JJ: Hope so, man. Anything that comes our way we gonna take it – the right roles that is.

DX: What about movies? I know Juicy you was trying to do the acting thing on the show.
JJ: Yeah, I’ma still try to pursue that. I mean, I don’t think I’m an actor or nothing like that, but I’m gonna at least try. You gotta at least try and see what happens.

DX: Let’s switch gears to the new album. Did I read correct that there’s actually a song on there with Paris Hilton called “That’s Hot”?
DP: Nah. I ain’t even heard that rumor. I wish we did have a song with Paris Hilton on there though.

DX: Yeah, I heard y’all was supposed to be working with her, right?
DP: Yeah, we worked with her on one song when she was working on her album. [The song’s] not on the album though. But yeah, we worked on a song.

DX: So Paris Hilton is good peoples to Three 6?
DP: Hell yeah. That’s our girl. She real cool. I just had lunch with her the other day. That’s my peoples. She go with our boy from Good Charlotte, our homie [Benji Madden].

DX: Y’all got a joint with Good Charlotte on the album, correct?
DP: Yep. We got a joint on there. It’s a gangsta joint though. It ain’t no rock song. It’s a gangsta joint, but they produced it, them and their production team. Continued on page 2 »