Juicy J asks a fair question.
It’s no secret that we at HNHH recently put our heads together to concoct “The Top 50 Best Rapper Flow Of All Time” list. The product many meetings and discussions and debates, the list celebrated the innovators and technicians who seemingly mastered the art flow. Given that hip-hop is such a wide-ranging artform, spanning nearly fifty years existence — not to mention the disparity between in-fice age and musical taste–coming to any conclusion at all was no easy feat. Naturally, omissions are destined to occur, though disrespect is never intended.
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Yesterday, Juicy J had a few words to say about the lack Three 6 Mafia‘s presence. “Good to see project pat on there but where is 36mafia ??” he writes, in response to our flow list. “Everybody stole those flows.” A fair point, and one that holds water given the impressive scope their influence. From horrorcore to Southern bounce, Three 6 has influenced hip-hop in more ways than the casual fan might know. In hindsight, perhaps more respect should have been placed on the Three 6 name, if only to pay homage to the groundwork they laid for countless rappers to come.
In truth, one has to wonder who Juicy was specifically referring to when he named “everybody.” In the early nineties, Three 6 and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony found themselves in a “beef” (hardly a real beef, hence the quotes) after the former accused the latter biting their style. Luckily, they would soon quash the misunderstanding and go on to collaborate on several occasions. Given the direct stylistic influences between Bone Thugs and Three 6, and the impact both groups would have on the triplet flow and double-time rap in general, it does stand to reason that Three 6 and its members deserved a more thorough examination. Where do you stand?
