Project Pat Drops Debut Album ‘Ghetty Green’: Today in Hip-Hop

On this day, Sept. 14, in hip-hop history…

1999: After spending a number of years behind bars on robbery charges in the mid-1990s, rapper Project Pat reemerged with his debut album, Ghetty Green.

The 20-track, underground classic is horrorcore at its finest. Entirely produced by his future Three 6 Mafia counterparts—his younger brother Juicy J and DJ Paul—the LP is lined with eerie, hardcore southern beats and bars about the murder and drug trafficking that characterize the grimy streets of Memphis. It's a harrowing look at the reality Project Pat faced in his hometown during one of hip-hop's most pivotal eras.

Ghetty Green also has a number of big-name features, including ascendant New Orleans duo Big Tymers ("Choppers," "Ballers (Outro)"), Noreaga ("Represent It"), Three 6 Mafia ("Gold Shine"), Juicy J ("Sucks on Dick"), Crucial Conflict ("Stabbers") and more.

Out of the project's eight solo tracks, "Out There" is a fan favorite as Pat reminisces about his life post-prison. In 2018, Drake borrowed a few bars from the track for BlocBoy JB's "Look Alive," which broke the Billboard 100 Top 5.

On it, Drizzy slightly rephrases a line about Project Pat's jail stint, rapping "If I fucked up, I'ma be downtown mane/Fourth floor-bound, mane, that's if I get caught, mane/Pushed me to the edge, so it really ain't my muthafuckin' fault, mane." On the original version, Pat spits "If yo' ass step, I'ma be downtown, mane/Fourth floor bound, mane, that's if I get caught, mane/Pushed me to the edge, so it really ain't my fault, mane."

Unlike its follow-up, Ghetty Green didn't see much commercial success. The album peaked at No. 9 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 52 on the Billboard 200. Pat's sophomore LP, Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin, was certified gold shortly after its release with the help of its lead single, "Chickenhead."

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