When the Smoke Clears  (Audio CD) 
by Three 6 Mafia

New Orleans and Atlanta both have mega-cliques holding down their local rap reputations. Well, Memphis, Tennessee, has one too. The Hypnotize Minds label, home of the Three 6 Mafia, has been wreaking havoc on local dancefloors (with tracks like the Mafia's 1996 underground smash, "Tear Da Club Up") since 1993. Veterans of lyrical disorder, this group is well known for its slasher-flick lyrical content (cartoon violence, misogyny). When the Smoke Clears is infested with the Mafia's signature horror-core lyrics, but producers Juicy J and DJ Paul's beats show a growth in individuality. Their intoxicating first single, "Sippin' on Some Syrup," (featuring Texas's UGK) is 2000's Funky Cold Medina, though the Three 6 video isn't as funny as Tone Loc's. There are several other potential hits on the album, including "I'm So High" and "Where da Cheese At." An appropriate collaboration with twisted brothers-from-another-mother Insane Clown Posse also adds to the mayhem. But unfortunately, at 22 tracks, this deviant Dirty South album overstays its welcome. --Vanessa Satten