THREE SIX MAFIA

Three 6 Mafia (formerly known as Triple Six Mafia) was an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Memphis, Tennessee. Their style has been variously described as Southern hip hop, crunk, hardcore rap, horrorcore and gangsta rap. 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 movie Hustle & Flow. The group released their debut album Mystic Stylez in 1995 through Prophet Entertainment, a record label they co-created but later relinquished control of in favor of a new label that they also created but had full ownership and control of, Hypnotize Minds. Their musical style—which initially featured dark, menacing beats with equally gritty lyrics—gradually moved to a less dark style. Two of their albums are RIAA-certified Platinum: When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 (2000) and Most Known Unknown (2005), the latter featured their well-known single "Stay Fly", which itself achieved 2x Multi-Platinum (Double Platinum) RIAA certification status. The group's final studio album, Last 2 Walk, was released in 2008. The group last recorded in 2012. Three 6 Mafia's worldwide album sales stand at 5.5 million as of 2016.^[1] The group is widely considered as being the main influence of early horrorcore, "crunk" music of the 2000s, and the sound of modern underground hip-hop.