DJ Paul marked a serious turning level with two years of sobriety, a deeply private win that stands in stark distinction to the drug-related deaths which have haunted Three 6 Mafia.

The Memphis-born producer and rapper shared the milestone in a brief however highly effective message on social media: “2 Years Sober!!!” For a founding member of a gaggle whose music usually celebrated drug use, the announcement carried additional weight.

Three 6 Mafia’s legacy is constructed on brooding beats and lyrics that incessantly referenced every little thing from codeine to cocaine. Their 1995 debut Mystic Stylez helped outline Memphis rap’s gritty sound, and tracks like “Sippin’ on Some Syrup” turned anthems of a drug-fueled life-style. For Paul, now in his 50s, stepping away from that world represents a full-circle transformation.

“Now I’ve entered year 3 & all I can say is “Everything thats going to happen will…but what if i did this Decades ago,” DJ Paul mentioned.

The timing of Paul’s announcement provides to its emotional affect. In January 2023, the group misplaced Gangsta Boo at age 43. Her loss of life, in accordance with TMZ, “seems to be linked to drugs,” with fentanyl probably concerned. The loss devastated the Hip-Hop neighborhood and served as one more grim reminder of the style’s ongoing battle with substance abuse.

Nearly a decade earlier, Paul’s half-brother and fellow group member Lord Infamous died at 40. He handed away in December 2013 at their mom’s residence in Memphis. “He did pass away at his mothers house last night in Memphis,” Paul’s publicist confirmed. “The cause of death is unknown.” However, Lord Infamous had a historical past of well being points tied to drug use, together with coronary heart assaults and kidney issues.

Paul’s determination to go public together with his sobriety comes at a time when Hip-Hop continues to lose younger expertise to dependancy. Artists like Mac Miller and Juice WRLD had been each mourned after deadly overdoses, and the style has struggled to reconcile its lyrical themes with the real-world penalties.

Though Paul didn’t chronicle his restoration journey in real-time, his submit implies he started the method in late 2022—months earlier than Gangsta Boo’s passing. That element provides one other layer of that means to his achievement, as he had already dedicated to sobriety whereas enduring the grief of dropping one other shut collaborator.

Three 6 Mafia’s affect stretches far past Memphis. Their sound has impressed everybody from music/travis-scott-astroworld.html”>Travis Scott to music/2022/jan/26/asap-rocky-new-album-2022-interview”>A$AP Rocky, and their darkish, drug-laced aesthetic helped form trendy rap. But their legacy can be marked by the toll dependancy has taken on the group.

Paul’s milestone doesn’t erase the previous, but it surely does sign a shift. It exhibits that even those that as soon as helped glorify drug tradition in music can select a distinct path. His announcement serves as a uncommon second of readability in a style nonetheless reckoning with its relationship to substance use.

Paul’s two-year sobriety mark was shared in April 2024, providing a second of reflection for each himself and the Hip-Hop world nonetheless grappling with loss.

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