Hypnotize Minds

Founding

Hypnotize Minds was founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1997 by DJ Paul and Juicy J, the producers and core members of Three 6 Mafia. The pair had already built a local following through underground tapes, and the new label gave them a vehicle for the group and for the circle of rappers around it. The early roster included Three 6 Mafia members Lord Infamous, Crunchy Black and Gangsta Boo, as well as Juicy J's older brother Project Pat. DJ Paul and Juicy J produced nearly all of the label's music, giving its releases a shared sound built on dark keyboard lines, heavy 808 drums and chanted hooks.

The Relativity years

Hypnotize Minds' first widely distributed release was Three 6 Mafia's “Chapter 2: World Domination,” issued with Relativity Records on November 4, 1997. It reached number 40 on the Billboard 200 and became the group's first gold album. Gangsta Boo's solo debut “Enquiring Minds” followed on September 29, 1998, through Hypnotize Minds and Relativity, reaching number 46 on the Billboard 200 and number 15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Project Pat also released his first albums through the label in this period.

Loud, Columbia and the peak

Three 6 Mafia's “When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1” (2000), released with Loud Records, reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. Project Pat's “Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin” (2001) peaked at number 4 and was certified gold. Moving to Columbia Records and Sony Urban Music, the group released “Da Unbreakables” (June 24, 2003), which reached number 4 and was certified gold. “Most Known Unknown” (September 27, 2005) opened at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart with 125,000 copies sold in its first week and was certified platinum in 2006. That year Three 6 Mafia won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “It's Hard out Here for a Pimp” from the film “Hustle & Flow.” Lil Wyte, signed in 2002, and Frayser Boy, signed in 2001, were among the label's newer acts.

Decline and legacy

Crunchy Black left in 2006, and Gangsta Boo and Lord Infamous had departed earlier. Three 6 Mafia's “Last 2 Walk” (2008) reached number 5 on the Billboard 200, but the group then went on hiatus. The label's final release was Lil Wyte's “Still Doubted?” in June 2012, and Hypnotize Minds has been considered inactive since then. Its catalog, and the Memphis underground sound that preceded it, strongly influenced later Southern rap and trap production, and its records remain widely sampled.