Alongside Juicy J and Lord Infamous, DJ Paul was one of the founding members of the "Backyard Posse," which eventually evolved into the hip-hop collective now known as Three 6 Mafia. However, DJ Paul first rose to prominence as a solo DJ and music producer within the growing Memphis rap/crunk/trap scene of the late 1980s and early '90s. His first studio album, "Underground Volume 16: For da Summer," was not released until 2002 but includes remastered tracks from his 1994 mixtape "Underground Volume 16: 4 Da Summa of '94." In 2006, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song with Juicy J and Crunchy Black for the song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp," recorded for the film of the same name. When Three 6 Mafia disbanded in 2012, DJ Paul joined Crunchy Black, Gangsta Boo, Lord Infamous, and Koopsta Knicca as part of the spin-off group Da Mafia 6ix. He is currently one of only two remaining members of Three 6 Mafia, which reunited in 2019.