You’ve heard the beat. Even if you weren't hanging around Memphis in the late nineties, you know that frantic, driving rhythm. It’s "Who Run It," the 1997 classic from Three 6 Mafia’s Chpt. 2: "World Domination". It’s a song that shouldn't have worked as well as it did. It’s aggressive. It’s dark. It feels like a panic attack set to a drum machine. Yet, decades later, the Three Six Mafia who run it energy is literally the blueprint for everything you hear on the radio today.
Memphis wasn't the center of the universe back then. Far from it. While New York and LA were busy with the East-West coastal war, DJ Paul and Juicy J were in a basement making something much more sinister. They were sampling horror movie soundtracks. They were layering heavy, distorted 808s that made car trunks rattle until the bolts came loose.
The Sound That Swallowed the Charts
The "Who Run It" beat is built on a sample from "Drag Rap" by the Showboys. It’s a New Orleans bounce staple, but Three 6 Mafia twisted it. They made it faster. They made it meaner. When you talk about the Three Six Mafia who run it legacy, you have to talk about the "Who Run It" challenge that exploded in 2018. G Herbo sat in a car, rapped over the beat for a radio freestyle, and suddenly every single rapper in the industry—from 21 Savage to A$AP Rocky—had to jump on it.
Why? Because the rhythm is infectious. It’s what we now call "Trap," but in 1997, it was just "that Memphis sound."
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It wasn’t just the beat, though. The flow was different. That "triple-time" or "triplet" flow where rappers cram three syllables into a beat usually reserved for two? That’s Three 6 Mafia. Lord Infamous (The Scarecrow) was doing that while most rappers were still stuck on basic nursery rhyme schemes. People call it the "Migos flow" now, but it’s really the Memphis flow. If you look at the credits of almost any major hip-hop hit in the last five years, you’ll find a DNA strand that leads directly back to DJ Paul’s production desk.
Not Just Music, It’s a Business Model
DJ Paul and Juicy J weren't just artists. They were savvy. They realized early on that if they wanted to stay independent, they had to own everything. They formed Prophet Entertainment, which later became Hypnotize Minds. They sold tapes out of the trunks of their cars before they ever saw a major label check.
They understood "street teams" before that was a corporate buzzword. They would give tapes to the guys with the loudest car stereos in the neighborhood. That was their marketing. It worked. By the time they signed with Relativity Records, they already had a cult following that was ready to buy anything they touched.
People forget how controversial they were. The name "Three 6 Mafia" alone caused a massive stir in the Bible Belt. They had to explain constantly that it wasn't about devil worship—it was about the three sixes in "666" being a marketing play for their dark, cinematic sound. Or, as DJ Paul once put it, they were just fans of horror movies like Friday the 13th. They were the first rappers to really lean into the "horrorcore" aesthetic without making it feel like a gimmick. It felt real. It felt like the humidity and the danger of Memphis nights.
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The Academy Award Shift
When Three 6 Mafia won an Oscar in 2006 for "It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp," the world finally caught up. It’s one of the most surreal moments in television history. Seeing Juicy J and DJ Paul standing on that stage next to George Clooney was a signal. It told the industry that the "underground" wasn't underground anymore.
But even with the mainstream success, "Who Run It" remained the litmus test for real fans. It’s the song that separates the casual listeners from the people who actually know the history. If you can’t handle the energy of that track, you don't really get Memphis rap.
Why "Who Run It" Came Back So Hard
The 2018 resurgence wasn't a fluke. Music works in cycles, usually 20-year loops. The kids who grew up hearing their older brothers play Three 6 Mafia were finally in the studio making their own hits.
G Herbo’s freestyle was the spark, but the fuel was already there. Producers like Metro Boomin and Murda Beatz have openly admitted that Three 6 Mafia’s production style—the repetitive, hypnotic loops and the heavy sub-bass—is their primary influence.
Honestly, if you take the Three Six Mafia who run it drum pattern and put a modern synth over it, it sounds exactly like a track from 2026. They were that far ahead of the curve. They used the Roland TR-808 in ways the creators never intended. They pushed the limits of what a speaker could physically handle.
The Darker Side of the Legacy
It hasn't all been trophies and TikTok challenges. The group has seen its share of tragedy. The loss of Lord Infamous in 2013 and Koopsta Knicca in 2015 hit the fanbase hard. Then, the passing of Gangsta Boo in early 2023 felt like the end of an era. She was the "Queen of Memphis," a female rapper who could out-rap almost anyone on the roster without relying on the tropes that female artists are often forced into.
Her verse on the "Who Run It" era tracks showed a level of aggression and technical skill that paved the way for artists like GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion. You can hear Gangsta Boo's cadence in almost every Southern female rapper working today. It’s a legacy of toughness.
How to Apply the Three 6 Mafia Blueprint
If you’re a creator, an entrepreneur, or just someone trying to understand how culture shifts, there are actual lessons to be learned from how Three 6 Mafia operated. They didn't wait for permission.
- Iterate on a Niche. They didn't try to sound like New York. They leaned into the "weird" Memphis sound until the world decided it wasn't weird anymore.
- Ownership is Everything. By running their own label, they kept the lion's share of their earnings and maintained total creative control over their "Triple 6" branding.
- Cross-Pollination Works. They collaborated with anyone who shared their energy, from UGK in Texas to Project Pat (Juicy J’s brother), creating a regional powerhouse that was impossible to ignore.
- Embrace the Dark Horse Status. They were the outsiders at the Oscars. They were the outsiders in the rap game. Being the underdog gives you a chip on your shoulder that translates into better, more aggressive work.
The reality of the Three Six Mafia who run it story is that they never actually stopped running it. They just changed the way the race is run. You see their influence in the way Travis Scott stages his shows. You see it in the DIY aesthetic of the SoundCloud rap era. You see it in the "dark trap" visuals of modern music videos.
They proved that a specific, local sound could become a global language. Memphis isn't just a city on a map; in the world of hip-hop, it’s a foundational text.
To truly understand the impact, go back and listen to the original 1997 recording of "Who Run It." Pay attention to the hi-hats. Listen to the way the vocal samples stutter. It’s a masterclass in tension and release. It reminds you that while trends fade and artists come and go, some rhythms are just permanent.
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If you want to dive deeper into this sound, start by exploring the early Prophet Entertainment tapes. Look for the "Smoked Out, Loced Out" era recordings. These are raw, lo-fi, and often haunting, but they provide the context for how a group of kids from Tennessee ended up holding gold statues in Hollywood. Study the production techniques of DJ Paul—specifically his use of the SP-1200 and the MPC—to see how he crafted those iconic, muddy textures that defined a generation.