You Can’t Say They Aren’t Ambitious

The city of Memphis was a proving ground for rock ‘n’ roll some 50 years ago, and it was the recording home of everyone from Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King to Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and the rest of the legendary Stax Records acts.

Despite this rich musical history, Memphis has largely been overlooked as a talent pool for modern music. Three 6 Mafia hopes to change that. The six-member rap group, which is led by producers-rappers DJ Paul and Juicy J, has its own record companies and a thick roster of talent, a la Master P’s No Limit Records and Sean “Puffy” Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment.

Although the group often raps about violence and its relationship with the devil, Three 6 Mafia has the lofty goal of building a musical legacy that would rival that of Stax.

“The older I got, when I found out that Memphis had a major independent label that was kicking ass, I felt like we had to bring it back,” says Juicy J, who produces all of Three 6 Mafia’s music with DJ Paul.

“The Memphis music scene had died completely out. Not only are we going to do rap, but once we get our foot in the door, we’re going to put out R&B;, rock. We’re going to have different branches for different talent. I’m trying to go beyond just rap music. I want to be bigger than Stax. If not bigger than that, right beside it.”

The latest step toward that goal is “Sippin’ on Syrup,” the first single from Three 6 Mafia’s new album, “When the Smoke Clears/Sixty 6, Sixty 1” (due Tuesday on Hypnotize Minds/Loud Records). The song, which is about recreational indulgence in cough syrup, strays from the raucous, spine-tingling sound that’s been a signature of Mafia songs. Its slinky, mid-tempo beat and catchy chorus make it irresistible.

“Sippin’ on Syrup” could be the group’s breakthrough single--its video is in the top five of BET’s “Rap City” video countdown. Even with a gold album to its credit, Three 6 Mafia has never had such a buzz surrounding an album as it does with “Smoke . . . .”

The group, which also includes Gangsta Boo, Lord Infamous, Crunchy Black and Koopsta Knicca, has long been an underground phenomenon whose status in the Southeast is like that of Dr. Dre in Los Angeles. “Sippin’ on Syrup” marks a conscious effort by the group to expand its sonic horizons and increase its fan base.

“I don’t like to come with the same buck [rowdy] stuff all the time, because I don’t want people to think that that’s all we can do,” DJ Paul says. “Plus, people that’s not a fan of Three 6 Mafia because of the buck singles they’ve heard, they’ll know that we’ve got other stuff and they might pick up the album.”

DJ Paul and Juicy J were independent operators who combined their stables of rappers in 1994 and released an album as Triple 6 Mafia. They funneled the profits from that project into their own company, debuting as Three 6 Mafia in 1995 with “Mystic Stylez” on their own Prophet Entertainment label. Since then, Three 6 Mafia has been one of hip-hop’s best-kept secrets. Helping them stay underground was the fact that they had only regional distribution and a liking for gruesome tales of cannibalism, beheadings and other macabre fare.

Despite its edgy subject matter, Three 6 Mafia makes most of its impact with its production, which is among the best--and most overlooked--in hip-hop. DJ Paul and Juicy J create beats that make the “Jaws” theme seem serene, using hypnotic, eerie sounds that would fit well in a horror movie chase scene. The hyper “Tear Da Club Up” was the song that made Three 6 Mafia a major player in 1997.

“It’s energetic, and that’s what [fans] need,” Paul says of his group’s rousing sound. “That’s what the clubs are about.”

That high will have no chance of dying down if Paul and J have anything to do with it. They are set to resume shooting their direct-to-video film “Choices” this month. The independently funded movie, which is expected by the end of the year, focuses on life in the streets of Memphis.

With their independent label Smoked Out Music, Paul and J plan to release albums from La Chat and Project Pat in the next few months. They will also release the second album from Gangsta Boo on their Hypnotize Minds imprint through Loud Records, a Sony subsidiary, before the end of the year.

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD: In addition to Three 6 Mafia’s new album, four major hip-hop collections helmed by high-profile producers are scheduled to be released within the next month. Swizz Beatz, a hit-maker for DMX, Jay-Z, Eve and others, will carry the Ruff Ryders’ “Ryde or Die Vol. 2,” due July 4, while Easy Mo Bee, who has produced the Notorious B.I.G. and RZA, will release his debut album, “Now or Never: Odyssey 2000,” on June 27. Also on June 27, Erick Onasis, also known as EPMD’s Erick Sermon, will release his “Def Squad Presents Erick Onasis,” which features DJ Quik, Xzibit and others, and the veteran Boston production team Hangman 3 will issue its debut album.

All of the albums are stuffed with star rappers, suggesting that the producers on the projects are far more important than the vocalists. Swizz Beatz, Easy Mo Bee and Onasis have all tried their hands at rapping, with Sermon’s contribution to EPMD easily being the most significant and influential. Conclusion: Today’s rappers may be tomorrow’s star producers.