American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee.Established 1991 in Memphis with DJ Paul (Paul Beauregard), Juicy J (Jordan Houston) and Lord Infamous (Ricky Dunigan). The original name for the hip hop group was "Backyard Posse", followed shortly after by "Triple Six Mafia" and they originally did "horrorcore" music. The group formed through releasing several EP's from their own record company with Nick Scarfo, Prophet Entertainment, later launching their own label, Hypnotize Minds. During their early career, they also propelled the careers of several other rappers. Eventually added before the release of "Mystic Stylez" were rappers Koopsta Knicca (Robert Cooper), Gangsta Boo (Lola Mitchell), and Crunchy Black (Darnell Carlton).Evolving slowly but steadily over the years, Three 6 Mafia (whose name is a reference to the biblical number 666), began as an exploitative, horror-themed underground hardcore rap sensation yet went on to enjoy some mainstream success years later, eventually winning an Oscar and scoring some major hits. The group's membership varied from album to album, with the one constant being the duo of Juicy J and DJ Paul, who are producers as well as rappers. Other notable Mafia affiliates at one time or another include Crunchy Black, Gangsta Boo, Lord Infamous, Koopsta Knicca, La' Chat, Project Pat, Killa Klan Kaze, and Indo G. The production acumen of Juicy and Paul also brought about a number of side projects including Tear Da Club Up Thugs, Hypnotize Camp Posse and Da Headbussaz, andindependent label ventures; the guys initially did business as Prophet Entertainment, later as Hypnotize Minds, working out deals with Relativity Records, Loud Records, and Columbia -- all in turn.
In 1995, the Memphis underground rap group, then named "Triple 6 Mafia", released its first official album, Mystic Stylez. It had recorded this album by using the profits from its highly successful underground tape Smoked Out, Loced Out. The members then changed the group's name to "Three 6 Mafia" (or sometimes "3-6 Mafia") and now use the Triple-6 name on the compilations of reissued tracks from their underground tapes. They did this because radio stations supposedly refused to play the songs of a group whose name included a reference to the number 666. There are also rumors that the name was changed because of copyright reasons due to a falling out with others in the Memphis rap scene. The group has had a number of disputes with former allies, namely Playa Fly, Gangsta Blac, and Skinny Pimp. In fact, some say that the group was originally named "Three Six Mafia" (all words spelled out), then switched to "Triple Six" for similar reasons.
On the 1995 single "Live By Yo Rep", the group had accused Cleveland group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony of stealing its style (a mix of quasi-harmonic rapping and blatant references to the occult). The track "All Original" on Bone's Art of War album is thought to be a dis of Three Six (this issue has apparently been settled, however). The problems between the two groups were eventually settled in family court in June 1996.
Eventually, Three 6 Mafia moved towards the "crunk" style of rap - repetitive chanting aimed at hyping a crowd (e.g.? "tear the club up, nigga, tear the club up!"). This direction (exemplified by songs like "Sippin' on Syrup" with Houston rappers UGK) helped them reach number 6 on the Billboard album chart in 2000 with their CD 6661: When the Smoke Clears.
Three 6 has expanded its operations considerably. Its stable of affiliated rappers is called "Hypnotize Minds" or the "Hypnotize Camp Posse" (HCP). Aside from many of the individual members releasing solo albums, they have also released material from "Tear Da Club Up Thugs" (a side project) and "Three Six Mafia Presents: Hypnotize Camp Posse" (a Memphis rap compilation). Unfortunately, Three 6 Mafia has also lost many members. Koopsta Knicca left due to a monetary dispute, while La Chat is currently pursuing a solo career. Gangsta Boo is rumored to have converted to Christianity and is interested in gospel music (which she denies, saying that it's a rumor started by her former label mates). Lord Infamous is likely in prison and very possibly under 24-hour lockdown, although Juicy J has said he's on "vacation." T-Rock has parted ways with Three 6 Mafia, and has publicly dissed the entire clique and accused them of shady business dealings in interviews and on his track "Mr. Big Man." Project Pat recently served time in prison for a parole violation, but was released in July 2005.
In 2003, Three 6 Mafia released the album Da Unbreakables, which features collaborations with Lil' Flip, Pimp C, (from UGK), Lil' Wyte, Frayser Boy, Hank Williams, Jr., and Project Pat. The album produced the hit "Ridin' Spinnerz," which featured Lil' Flip.
In 2005, Three 6 Mafia released their highly anticipated new album ?Most Known Unknown.? It was notable that Lord Infamous was missing from this album. The generally accepted reason was that he had been incarcerated; however, Three 6 Mafia claim he is on "holiday.? He has since officially returned to Three 6 Mafia recently. The group is said to be associated with the crip gang. They diss the bloods in many of their lyrics.
Three 6 Mafia has always been known for their controversial and sometimes misunderstood lyrics. For example, in the song "Knock the Black Off Yo Ass", they reference the DC Area Sniper Shootings in multiple lines in the song. "I think they better call Bush, 'cause it's a national disaster, when I unleash my pistol-grip Bushmaster." "You can't hide, you can't run. I'm a sniper, ridin' in a blue Chevy, a trunk full of guns, man you hoes ain't ready."
?Stay Fly? was the first single off of The Most Unknown album. The next single released off of the album was "Poppin? My Collar," which premiered around mid January 2006.
Their song "Late Nite Tip" is favoured by car audio enthusiasts for its deep, rolling bassline and is a stalwart of testing ones sound system also it is known that they sampled many Willie Hutch songs on their album Most Known Unknown
In January of 2006, Three 6 Mafia made history as they became the first African-American hip-hop act to be nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Achievement In Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song). The group was nominated for the song It?s Hard Out Here For A Pimp off of the Hustle & Flow soundtrack. The first hip-hop act to actually be nominated for an Academy Award in this category was Eminem in 2002 for the song Lose Yourself off the 8 Mile soundtrack and he also won the award. Three 6 Mafia was credited by their real names in the nomination and not by their group name. Jordan Houston (Juicy J), Cedric Coleman (Crunchy Black), and Paul Beauregard (DJ Paul) were named in the nomination. Terrance Howard, who performed the song in the movie, refuses to perform it at the Academy Awards possibly because it reinforces stereotypes that all black males are pimps.
On March 5, 2006, Three 6 Mafia won the Academy Award they were nominated for, becoming the first African American Hip-Hop group to win an Oscar.
During May Crunchy Black left Three 6 Mafia to go on his own. He is releasing 4 mixtapes and 4 dvds in the near future.
User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.
From Wikipedia:Three 6 Mafia is an Academy Award-winning American rap group originating from Memphis, Tennessee. Formed in 1991 as Triple 6 Mafia by brothers DJ Paul and Lord Infamous they started collaborating with Juicy J and he became the one of the core members of the group.. The group at its most featured six members; Crunchy Black, DJ Paul, Gangsta Boo, Juicy J, Koopsta Knicca and Lord Infamous. The group also frequently collaborates with Project Pat (Juicy J's older brother). Their 2005 song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" won Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards.
The group released their debut underground album Mystic Stylez in 1995 through Prophet Entertainment, a record label they created but have since relinquished control. Their musical style?which initially featured dark, menacing beats with equally gritty lyrics?has since moved to a more mainstream sound. The group has also had numerous lineup changes, and now consists only of original members Juicy J and DJ Paul. Nonetheless, they have cultivated a sizable and diverse cult following that has only increased since their Oscar win. They have released two platinum albums; When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 and Most Known Unknown, the latter featured their well known single Stay Fly. They have since gone on to collaborate with many well known singers and rappers such as Akon, Jim Jones, Tech N9ne, Paul Wall and Ludacris. DJ Paul's new solo album Scale-A-Ton was released May 5, 2009, and Juicy J's solo album Hustle Till I Die was released June 16, 2009. Their latest album entitled Laws of Power was set for release in January 2010 but was then pushed back to June 29, 2010, however it is now currently delayed.