God bless the Dead: Part 2 – Fat Pat

Up for today is the second installment of the God bless the Dead-series. Today’s feature is H-Town Legend and original Screwed Up Click Member Fat Pat.

2. Fat Pat – All Eyez on the Fat Gangster

You have educated, well spoken gangsters that seem too reasonable to be G and then you got the hyper-sympathic funny Go-to-Guys  like Fat Pat. Born in Houston, on December 4, 1970, Patrick Lamark Hawkins, was an original member of DJ Screw’s Screwed Up Click and Dead End Alliance. But even more so a certified street legend in Houston’s infamous South Park-neighborhood.
Trying to touch on Pat’s legacy is almost impossible to describe with words.
Pat wasn’t most notable for his music, but more for his personality, just being a real street dude, staying real to the game and it’s rules. His grind, his style, his swag – that’s what made him such an important figure for Houston’s diverse scene.

A lot of rumors surround the death of Patrick Hawkins, most of them connected to the drug game – they all proved to be wrong, when DJ Screw shed light on the mystery, when bein‘ interviewed back in 1999.

Pat in fact was killed by a Austin, Texas drug lord named Weasel, being part-time concert promoter. One day Pat and Screw performed in Austin. Weasel video taped the show and sold bootlegs of it on the streets. When Pat confronted him with the claim, he denied it. Pat wasn’t too pleased with that and the two got into a bad argument which was solved without bad results though. Soon after Weasel got robbed and thought Fat Pat was to be blamed for it. To „solve“ the problem, Weasel invited Pat over to his place in Austin, claiming he wanted to pay him for the tapes. Well, things turned out different and Pat got shot by Weasel over the robbery.

And once again a key figure got killed, for keeping it real. For going there without no protection. Like a man. Getting killed for it – within the blink of an eye.

The saddest thing about it all is, that he never saw the big success of his debut-album Ghetto Dreams, as he was killed February 3, 1998. Ghetto Dreams was released March 17, 1998. The album achieved to reach the No. 5-spot on the US Rap-Charts. Moving 20.000 units in it’s first week, eventually reaching sales of 60.000 units. Independently.

Long gone, never forgotten – we mourn him with his own song – we miss our G!

Monday’s Mood: Johnny P – The Next (1998)

Some artists never achieve the success they really deserve. Chicago crooner Johnny P is among them. Remembered by most for his extra terrestrial hook-work on songs such as Do Or Die’s Po‘ Pimp or Scarface’s Smile, featuring the late 2Pac, he is most unknown for his solo-works, which is more than tragic, since it’s, well – awesome!

His sophomore-release (we’ll come to his debut sometime later) is his magnum opus. The Next features slow jams as the contagious Bed Time Story, sporting Jodeci-esque swag and vocal timbre somewhere in between Michael Jackson and fellow Chicagoan R. Kelly or Don’t Deserve It, a self depicting song, full of shame and realization, assisted by Do Or Die-chopper A.K..

But there’s even more than your average compilation of baby making music. There’s hella funk, too!

Munchies For Ya makes you wanna get freaky with, well – basically every girl next to you (better never bump that one next to your wife AND some unknown females). Deep bass groves, hard snare drums and sparse melody let Johnny’s voice take over and the rhythm hit’em – with force!
Talking about force – it’s all over the release, with features by Do Or Die, Scarface and Low Ride, vicious double time flows and smooth player antics are guaranteed. The Next came in a period, when Rap-A-Lot was making a big transition from their classic days with artists like Geto Boys, Seagram, Big Mello, Too Much Trouble and Ganksta NIP, to the shiny era with a more No Limit Records-approach. This is what the album probably suffered from – a lack of promotion and a somewhat unclear identity. RAL had never released an R&B-album before and the mistakes were obvious.

While being hell of a cool song, Take It Like A Playa, featuring sinister Dirty South-beats and explicit raps in corporation with a Mob Style-video, might not’ve been the best way to break a sensitive R&B-vocalist like Johnny P.
That’s where it all goes wrong: the album’s quality is unquestionable. P’s trademark adlibs and superb singing, the state of the art-production and overall-aesthetic – it’s top knotch. But you’re not gonna create a classic record without letting everybody know you DID.

That’s why The Next stays a gem among those that deeply love R&B and/or the Rap-A-Lot-catalogue. Either way – it’s a pick well worth owning and just what one of the album’s song states: Not 4 The Radio!