Mista Don’t Play a.k.a. Project Pat has been enjoying the good hood life since his 2005 release from prison. The Memphis-native recently spoke with AllHipHop about his “Adventures in Hollyhood” with DJ Paul and Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia, how he feels about the direction of music from the Dirty South to where the East Coast went wrong to T.I.’s recent federal case. With Walkin’ Bank Roll due to drop October 30th with guest appearances from the Hypnotize Minds camp and Pimp C, Mista Don’t Play really don’t play at all, as he dropped his jewels as well as gave his opinion on the difference between the street life and the slow grind.


AllHipHop.com: What’s been going on since Crook by the Book?

Project Pat: Oh well, you know, we’ve been working on “Adventures in Hollyhood,” working on my new album and Three 6 Mafia’s new album.

AllHipHop.com: Describe what it was like filming “Adventures In Hollyhood” for MTV.

Project Pat: I got involved in it because I’m Hypnotize Minds affiliated and we just trying to get more exposure and get our faces on them TVs. A lot of stuff behind the scenes they didn’t show. A whole lot of stuff. Stuff like Treice Ray… just a whole lot of stuff.

AllHipHop.com: Was it renewed for a second season?

Project Pat: We got put in for a movie for it. Yeah, we’re going to make a movie out of it. God keeps blessing us down here.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve been a known dirty south rapper for a while now, how do you feel about it being in the mainstream and where do you think the sound is going?

Project Pat: Well, I’m gonna put it to you like this right here, one thing about the dirty south is that we real stubborn in our ways. You know how they say “South people are set in they ways,” so the thing is as far as the music and the rap… the South gon’ keep it forever. See, where New York messed up is they gave it to us and they ran the game all day but they didn’t let them other little towns, little cities get on like Connecticut, Boston, and all those little surrounding cities. If it wasn’t New York, then nobody from New York was trying to hear it. See in the South we don’t roll like that. We let everybody get on. We want everybody to get a piece. We don’t care. We not trippin’ baby, you know that there. Arkansas ain’t came out yet, Oklahoma City ain’t came out yet. You got plenty of people that ain’t came out of Memphis yet. Nobody came out of Knoxville or Chattanooga yet. I know some dudes in Johnson City, Tennessee, up that way; them boys are off the chain. They gon’ come out and when they come out, we gon’ buy it. We ain’t gon’ boo ‘em. We gon’ put ‘em on down here, we ain’t trippin’. As long as they talking about this money, this shine and looking good and hustlin’ and gettin’ it, that’s all we want to hear. And also, I want to say this, I don’t know who in the clown was but it was some guy up on the East coast talking about down south rappers is like bubble gum rappers. Well, I think he needs to start chewing a whole pack of Hubba Bubba because that’s what’s selling out here. All this ol’ Hip-Hop has no meaning, man, kill yo’self. It’s lots of money out here; we ain’t trying to think about that. Quit playing games, n***as got kids out here and the kids gotta eat. It’s got plenty of meaning. I’m feeding other folk and people around me are getting jobs and money for they kids.

Now one thing about down South like I said earlier, people got they own styles in the things they do. We got a lot of styles in the South and we don’t trip. People support each other and it’s all good. As far as the sound, it’s getting more on dances now and hustlin’ in streets. And you always gotta be talking something about that money. See down South, we ain’t complicated. You ain’t got to be dotting your I’s and crossing your T’s in the dirty. We ain’t gon’ trip on that. We don’t say girl, we say guhl. Man, quit trippin’! We bringing our styles to the game and guess what, they diggin’ it.

AllHipHop.com: Talk to me about your upcoming album Walkin’ Bank Roll. Any special guests or favorite tracks?

Project Pat: Man, I got my boy Pimp C on there and Three 6 Mafia is on there. Me and my boy Pimp got a song on there called “Talkin’ Smart to the Pimpin’.” And it’s some flames on here, you know. It come out October 30th with the number one hit single in the United States called “Don’t Call Me No Mo’.”

AllHipHop.com: How do you feel about T.I. and his possible federal charges? Aren’t they similar to what you went through in 2001?

Project Pat: They exactly what I went through and it’s a shame. It’s a godforsaken shame. You know, that’s a hardcore blow to the South and I hate it from the bottom of my heart. I pray for the man and I truly believe that God is going to bring him out of this situation. But man, I’m gonna tell you something. You just got to be watchful out here, you know. I ask everybody that gets in the car with me “You got a gun on you? You got a gun on you? You got a gun on you?” I gotta know man because you can’t be riding with me because I don’t know man; I’m not having it. See dealing with rappers down South we got a lot of street poets. And for a street guy to have a gun is like waking up in the morning, that’s nothing. Now if the police pull me over for that, he’s arresting me. I got caught with two, a .44 and a .22 revolver and I said to myself, Memphis got a lot of crime. Memphis is guttah, it’s going down. It’s been bad; you know what I’m saying? We got plenty of gangs. Memphis is not a white-collar city; it’s a gangsta town. And this real talk, the drug dealers and killers could be riding down the street and they could be signing autographs. They got the fan-base in my city. To a dude that’s coming from that, old habits are hard to break. You just gotta be smart, man. The robber got the gun to your back and the police got they gun to your face. It’s like being between a rock and a hard place. It’s real out here but I mean in his situation, it could have easily happened to me. And a lot of people don’t understand, they say, “He could’ve did this and did that,” but believe you and me; I was in the same situation. I had bodyguards and all that but at the same time, my mind was “Can’t nobody protect me like me.” So I feel the brother, you know what I’m saying. I hate that it happened like it did.

AllHipHop.com: What do you want to let him or people in the same situation as him know about what they’re about to go through?

Project Pat: If there’s anything I’d just tell the brother man because he seems like a real spiritual man, just turn it over to God. God gon’ work it out and however way it’s lookin’ don’t go by looks, just go by what you’ve prayed for. And stand your grounds on what you’ve prayed for because God gon’ give it to you. Real talk.

AllHipHop.com: Is there any advice you’d like to give these young boys out here that look to the streets as their only way of life?

Project Pat: Well, you know, I’m gonna tell you this right here; the streets are not the only way of life. It’s a proprietor of the devil. And I tell my people that the key to my success is that I pay my tithes and offerings. The real dudes in the street, these real guys, we respect God. We real, we know the business. So I tell these guys to put it down and give God a try. Turn your life over to Christ man, that’s real talk. That’s [the] only way you gon’ make it out here. That’s the only way I’ve seen. That’s what got me out the hood. That right there and taking initiative, slow grind. And when I say slow grind, just go on ‘head and get you a job and just slow grind it, man. Because that slow money is fa’ sho’ money.

AllHipHop.com: Anything else you’d like to share to the public?

Project Pat: I want to say let’s send some prayers up for T.I. and hold your guns and expect to come good because a lot of people be talking negative and it hurts. A lot of people are like “ah, he shouldn’t have done this and he did this…” but hey, it’s done now so quit talking like that. Send something to his lawyer. Real talk, quit talking about the man so much and speak something good. Pray for the man or something; don’t be sitting around here just talking. And I want to also say that you need go pick up this album Walkin’ Bank Roll coming out October 30th. Trick or treat man! Go cop that, real talk! Now while you copping Walkin’ Bank Roll go on head and cop the entire Hypnotize Minds catalog!