''Most Known Unknown'' is the eighth studio album by American hip hop group

Three 6 Mafia Three 6 Mafia is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip hop group, they would eventually go on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mys ...

. It was released on September 27, 2005, by

Hypnotize Minds Hypnotize Minds is an American record label created by DJ Paul and Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia in 1997, in Memphis, Tennessee. The label serves as the successor to Three 6 Mafia's previous label, Prophet Entertainment, which was co-founded by DJ Paul ...

Sony Urban Music Sony Urban Music was a division of Sony BMG, active from 2004 to 2006, The division handled R&B, soul, and hip hop releases by artists nominally signed to Sony's Columbia and Epic labels. During its existence, Sony Urban managed releases by a ...

, and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and is the follow-up to the 2003 album ''

Da Unbreakables ''Da Unbreakables'' is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. The album was released on June 24, 2003 by Hypnotize Minds and Columbia Records. The album features Lord Infamous, DJ Paul, Juicy J and Crunchy Black. Gangsta ...

''. This album is known for having some of Three 6 Mafia's biggest hits, including " Stay Fly" featuring

Young Buck David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), best known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He heads his own record label, Cashville, and was a member of the former hip hop group G-Unit. Early life Brown was born in Nashville, Te ...

and

8Ball & MJG 8Ball & MJG is an American hip hop duo from Memphis, Tennessee. They met at Ridgeway Middle School (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1984. In 1993, the duo released their debut album ''Comin' Out Hard''. They went on to release ''On the Outside Looking In ...

, "

Poppin' My Collar "Poppin' My Collar" is the second single from ''Most Known Unknown'', an album by hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. The song peaked at #21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming their second Top 40 hit. The track achieved RIAA platinum certification ...

" featuring

Project Pat Patrick Earl Houston (born February 8, 1973), better known by his stage name Project Pat, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the older brother of Juicy J, the co-founder of Three 6 Mafia. Houston was formerly a member of hip h ...

(though Pat's verse wasn't included in the first edition, but would later be included in the re-issue) and "

Side 2 Side "Side 2 Side" is a song by Three 6 Mafia, which was released as the third official single from the album ''Most Known Unknown''. A music video was released for the song using a remix, and includes appearances by Project Pat and Bow Wow in add ...

" featuring Bow Wow and Project Pat (with Bow Wow and Project Pat's verses, like the "Poppin' My Collar" remix, would not be used in the first edition, but would be released in the re-issue, along with another remix featuring

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

and a slightly different sounding melody). This album would prove to be their biggest success to date, topping the commercial success of their 2000 album '' When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1''. The original version was released on a regular CD version as well as a

DualDisc The DualDisc is a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including MJJ Productions Inc., EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group an ...

version featuring "The Life of the Most Known Unknowns" documentary, "Stay Fly" video with a live performance, and the uncut video of "Side 2 Side". The re-release also had a bonus version, with two remixes of "Poppin' My Collar" and "Side 2 Side". A

chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s by DJ ...

version by Michael Watts was also released. Along with chart topping hits, this album also featured several well-known guest rappers, including Mike Jones,

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'". In July 2005, h ...

Trick Daddy Maurice Samuel Young (born September 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is an American rapper from Miami's Liberty City (Miami), Liberty City. Early life Trick Daddy was born on September 27, 1974, at Jackson Memorial Hospita ...

, Mr. Bigg, 8Ball & MJG, Young Buck,

Remy Ma Reminisce Mackie ( Smith; born May 30, 1980), known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. In 2006, she released her debut stu ...

, Bow Wow (only on re-issue), Kanye West (only on re-issue),

Lil' Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born March 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. He embarked on his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before earning a record deal with Suckafree Records in 1999. Lil' F ...

, as well as the

Hypnotize Camp Posse Hypnotize Minds is an American record label created by DJ Paul and Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia in 1997, in Memphis, Tennessee. The label serves as the successor to Three 6 Mafia's previous label, Prophet Entertainment, which was co-founded by DJ Paul ...

(Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat,

Frayser Boy Cedric Coleman, professionally known by his stage name Frayser Boy, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He was formerly signed to Hypnotize Minds, the record label run by Three 6 Mafia founders DJ Paul and Juicy J, and had released t ...

Lil Wyte Patrick Dhane Lanshaw (born October 6, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wyte, is an American rapper. He is a member of the rap collective Hypnotize Minds and owner of the independent label Wyte Music. Early life Growing up in Frayse ...

, and others). Three 6 Mafia member

Lord Infamous Ricky T. Dunigan (November 17, 1973 – December 20, 2013), better known by his stage name Lord Infamous, was an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He was the half-brother of DJ Paul and one of the co-founders of Three 6 Mafia. His lyrics to ...

was notably omitted from this album. Many rumors speculated that he either left the group or was kicked out; these rumors were put to rest when

DJ Paul Paul Duane Beauregard (born January 12, 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Paul, is an American DJ, record producer, and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a founding member of hip hop group Three 6 Mafia and uncle of the late rapper ...

told sources that the reason for Infamous not being on the album was due to a stint in

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, leaving Crunchy Black, DJ Paul and Juicy J the only Three 6 Mafia members to be included on the album. Most Known Unknown opened at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 1 on the R&B/Hip-hop charts with 125,000 copies sold. It was certified gold by

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

the week following its release on November 2, 2005, and reached platinum status by June 26, 2006.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Three 6 Mafia albums 2005 albums Albums produced by DJ Paul Albums produced by Juicy J Sony BMG albums