Three 6 Mafia - Da Unbreakables (CD)

All Music Guide

Da Unbreakables generally follows the trajectory of Three 6 Mafia's career to date, moving them further away from their horrorcore beginnings toward the hardcore rap mainstream, yet doing so without forsaking any of production duo Juicy J and DJ Paul's beatmaking genius. Much like When the Smoke Clears (2000) and Choices (2001), the Mafia's past two releases (excluding their affiliated ones like Dat's How It Happen to'M, that is), Da Unbreakables includes a few standout tracks (namely "Testin My Gangsta," "Bin Laden," "Ridin Spinners," "Rainbow Colors," and "Dangerous Posse") amid a mass of excellently produced yet uninterestingly written ones. All the token motifs are here, and if you've been following Three 6 Mafia this far along, there will be very few surprises for you. To the Mafia's credit though, they are rather inventive, even when they're remaking "Tear da Club Up" for the umpteenth time (recycled as "Let's Start a Riot" this time around). And further to their credit, the beat...s have never sounded more impressive. The crux of the matter is how familiar you are with Three 6 Mafia: if you're new to them, you're going to love Da Unbreakables (assuming you like hardcore Dirty South, of course), as the Mafia absolutely tower over their Southern contemporaries; however, if you're a longtime fan or a fanatic, you probably already know the score before you even hear the album. Even if you fall into the latter category, the beatmaking alone is worth the price of admission -- it's downright peerless and can't be stressed enough. - Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide Read more Less