Gangsta Pat: He put one of Rap’s most influential cities on the map!

Memphis rap has to be one of the most influential yet under-credited cities in the rap game. So many hits came outta the M-Town, many of which are only known by the underground community. A lot of artists don’t get credit for the impact that they had on other artists and cities.

Memphis has a forgotten pioneer who stood his ground and fought hard at a time in rap when such legends as 2 Live Crew, Geto Boys, NWA, and Public Enemy were dominating the charts. I am referring to Memphis rap pioneer Gangsta Pat.

Pat put out “#1 Suspect” the same year NWA dropped “zaggin4life”, the same year Geto Boys dropped “We Can’t Be Stopped”, the same year 2 Live Crew put out “As Nasty As They Wanna Be Part II” and the same year P.E. hit’em with “Apocalypse 91.” Not to mention other classics like 2nd II None’s, AMG’s, MC Breed’s and DJ Quik’s debut albums to name a few.
Gangsta Pat signed to Atlantic Records being the first artist outta Memphis to sign a major deal. This was when he was only a teenager fresh off the hard streets of Memphis. His album was full of brutal reality with songs like “Shootin’ On Narcs” which took NWA’s “Fuck Tha Police” to a whole new level. Not only was it vivid detail about the drug trade, and the violence in the streets, but it had a straight forward message to the narcotics officers who were not  happy about the record.

Coming from a young kid this was a huge decision to make, especially with your debut album, but Pat stood his ground against the cops and exercised his right to freedom of speech. #1 Suspect as a whole was without a doubt one of if not the hardest albums of 1991.

Later on Pat continued to drop classic after classic on an underground level reaching loyal fans around the world. Songs like “Deadly Verses” and “I Wanna Smoke” have proven to be timeless among many. Pat is still dropping music on his label Red Rum Records, with last year’s EP “Live From Black Haven” and his upcoming release “I Wanna Smoke 20th Anniversary.”

Pat has also been a huge part of the Murder Master Music Show calling into legendary episodes such as the round table with Pat, Ganxsta NIP, and JT Money which can be heard below.

https://www.ugs4life.com/ganxsta-nip-gangsta-pat-and-jt-money-interview/

Check out other legendary interviews with Gangsta Pat on the UGS website. Find his name in the scroll down menu on the main page.

Also a few years ago Pat put out a great documentary which touched on not only his career but his life. Check it out below.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqIBKmLCJfk

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X06cr0kmQBE

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m_Fz9DIsL8

No matter what anyone does or says no one can take away Gangsta Pat’s place in Southern Rap History nor can they deny the fact that he sparked the scene in Memphis which opened the doors for many others.

Follow Gangsta Pat on Twitter @Gangsta_Pat