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Three 6 Mafia
Three 6 Mafia is an American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip-hop group, they went on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album Mystic Stylez became an influential cult classic. They have released music on independent labels such as Prophet Entertainment and their own Hypnotize Minds label, as well as Relativity, Loud, and Columbia Records.
Two of their albums are RIAA-certified platinum: When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 (2000) and Most Known Unknown (2005), with the latter featuring their hit single "Stay Fly". In 2006, the group won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards for their song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" from the film Hustle & Flow. The group's latest studio album, Last 2 Walk, was released in 2008. Three 6 Mafia's worldwide album sales stand at 5.5 million as of 2016.
Three 6 Mafia's founding members became musicians at young ages. In 1988, DJ Paul, at age 11, was taking piano lessons, and his half-brother, Lord Infamous, age 15, was a singer practicing bass and electric guitar. The two would compose songs together, with Paul playing piano and drums while Infamous played bass and guitar and sang.
At the same time, in North Memphis, Tennessee, Juicy J, at age 13, was learning how to DJ as well as rap. He had initially wanted to be a singer, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s he fell in love with the gangsta rap style, and he, like his future founding group members across town, wanted to make music like popular artists at the time such as N.W.A and Geto Boys.
In 1989, DJ Paul and Lord Infamous formed the duo "Da Serial Killaz". It was at this time they distributed their own mixtapes of popular songs at school, and Lord Infamous had started rapping with his signature triple time flow. Juicy J was also creating his own mixes by this time but was not putting his raps on tapes just yet.
By 1991, DJ Paul had already begun to make a name for himself in the local hip-hop scene through DJing at local clubs, such as Club 380 Beale, where he got his first opportunity to perform. His mixtapes, which were gradually evolving to include more and more original content of "Da Serial Killaz", also helped spread word of his talents. At the time, the hip-hop scene in Memphis had not taken a fully fledged form yet, but early works by artists such as DJ Spanish Fly and DJ Squeeky were hinting at what was to come. Meanwhile, Lord Infamous was still rapping and evolving his lyrical style. In North Memphis, Juicy J was slowly building a name for himself as well, now that he was making his own songs and distributing them with his mixtapes, as well as DJing at local clubs with his mentor.
That same year, DJ Paul and Juicy J first crossed paths after Juicy sought out Paul in 1991 for help making beats. The two quickly grew fond of each-other's musical styles and the two subsequently teamed up with Lord Infamous to form the group "The Backyard Posse". DJ Paul and Lord Infamous still continued work as "Da Serial Killaz" by themselves, and in 1992 released the first legitimate original recording to come out of the eventual Three 6 Mafia camp, "Portrait of a Serial Killa". Featuring dark beats by Paul and horrorcore-styled lyrics from Lord Infamous and DJ Paul, this tape is recognized in its raw form as a pioneering work of horrorcore hip-hop. Juicy J in the meantime released his debut hard copy mixtape, Volume 5, that same year, as well as his seminal track in its original form, "Slob on My Knob".
The first notable release from members of the group that dropped in 1993 was DJ Paul and Lord Infamous's Come With Me to Hell, which featured original forms of future Three 6 Mafia hits such as "Tear da Club Up" and "Porno Movie". Paul's "DJ Paul Volume 12" mixtape was also released at this time. That same year, while recording music for "The Backyard Posse", Lord Infamous rapped a line referring to his crew as the "Triple Six Mafia". The group later adopted the name, seeing that the name more closely matched the bleak and dark imagery of their music.
Three 6 Mafia
Three 6 Mafia is an American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip-hop group, they went on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album Mystic Stylez became an influential cult classic. They have released music on independent labels such as Prophet Entertainment and their own Hypnotize Minds label, as well as Relativity, Loud, and Columbia Records.
Two of their albums are RIAA-certified platinum: When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 (2000) and Most Known Unknown (2005), with the latter featuring their hit single "Stay Fly". In 2006, the group won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards for their song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" from the film Hustle & Flow. The group's latest studio album, Last 2 Walk, was released in 2008. Three 6 Mafia's worldwide album sales stand at 5.5 million as of 2016.
Three 6 Mafia's founding members became musicians at young ages. In 1988, DJ Paul, at age 11, was taking piano lessons, and his half-brother, Lord Infamous, age 15, was a singer practicing bass and electric guitar. The two would compose songs together, with Paul playing piano and drums while Infamous played bass and guitar and sang.
At the same time, in North Memphis, Tennessee, Juicy J, at age 13, was learning how to DJ as well as rap. He had initially wanted to be a singer, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s he fell in love with the gangsta rap style, and he, like his future founding group members across town, wanted to make music like popular artists at the time such as N.W.A and Geto Boys.
In 1989, DJ Paul and Lord Infamous formed the duo "Da Serial Killaz". It was at this time they distributed their own mixtapes of popular songs at school, and Lord Infamous had started rapping with his signature triple time flow. Juicy J was also creating his own mixes by this time but was not putting his raps on tapes just yet.
By 1991, DJ Paul had already begun to make a name for himself in the local hip-hop scene through DJing at local clubs, such as Club 380 Beale, where he got his first opportunity to perform. His mixtapes, which were gradually evolving to include more and more original content of "Da Serial Killaz", also helped spread word of his talents. At the time, the hip-hop scene in Memphis had not taken a fully fledged form yet, but early works by artists such as DJ Spanish Fly and DJ Squeeky were hinting at what was to come. Meanwhile, Lord Infamous was still rapping and evolving his lyrical style. In North Memphis, Juicy J was slowly building a name for himself as well, now that he was making his own songs and distributing them with his mixtapes, as well as DJing at local clubs with his mentor.
That same year, DJ Paul and Juicy J first crossed paths after Juicy sought out Paul in 1991 for help making beats. The two quickly grew fond of each-other's musical styles and the two subsequently teamed up with Lord Infamous to form the group "The Backyard Posse". DJ Paul and Lord Infamous still continued work as "Da Serial Killaz" by themselves, and in 1992 released the first legitimate original recording to come out of the eventual Three 6 Mafia camp, "Portrait of a Serial Killa". Featuring dark beats by Paul and horrorcore-styled lyrics from Lord Infamous and DJ Paul, this tape is recognized in its raw form as a pioneering work of horrorcore hip-hop. Juicy J in the meantime released his debut hard copy mixtape, Volume 5, that same year, as well as his seminal track in its original form, "Slob on My Knob".
The first notable release from members of the group that dropped in 1993 was DJ Paul and Lord Infamous's Come With Me to Hell, which featured original forms of future Three 6 Mafia hits such as "Tear da Club Up" and "Porno Movie". Paul's "DJ Paul Volume 12" mixtape was also released at this time. That same year, while recording music for "The Backyard Posse", Lord Infamous rapped a line referring to his crew as the "Triple Six Mafia". The group later adopted the name, seeing that the name more closely matched the bleak and dark imagery of their music.