INTERVIEW: Three 6 Mafia

When hip-hop artist Eminem was nominated in 2002 for the Best Original Song Oscar for his track “Lose Yourself” from Curtis Hanson’s 8 Mile, he did not attend the ceremony and therefore the song was not performed per tradition. Musician and co-nominee Luis Resto was on hand to accept the award.

Three years later, the door is open for Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia to become the first hip-hop artists ever to perform at an Oscar ceremony.

Jordan “Juicy J” Houston takes charge in an interview setting, speaking with a rapid fire delivery that gets his point across with the right balance of professional sincerity and conversational candor. His fellow nominee Paul “DJ Paul” Beauregard casually adds to the discussion here and there, remaining quiet the majority of the time. Nominated along with Cedric “Crunchy Black” Coleman for their song “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from the Hustle & Flow soundtrack, the group seems genuinely moved by the attention.

“That’s so big,” Houston says. “Right now I think I’m dreaming. And it’s going to be a clean show, you know. No one’s got anything to worry about.”

Swept up in a media frenzy following the nod to the film’s organic track, Houston and his collaborators can’t seem to go a waking moment without further exposure and regard for the accomplishment.

“It’s a blessing, man. We’ve been getting a lot of congratulations from our hometown. It seems like we’ve been on the news every day. As a matter of fact, I was on the news just yesterday giving an interview. It’s crazy, man.”

Craig Brewer’s sophomore effort also received a nomination for Best Actor for the film’s breakout star, Terrence Howard. The film debuted at Sundance over a year ago and has generated genuine love and respect, both for the performances (nominated en masse by the Screen Actors Guild in the Best Ensemble category), and for the music so integral to the viewing experience.

The nominated song’s key moment in the film comes during an in-studio collaborative session that sees actors Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson and DJ Qualls putting the track together piece by piece. Houston and Beauregard had plenty of experience working with established musicians, but this proved to be slightly unfamiliar territory.

“We’ve dealt with all types of artists,” Houston affirms. “Working with artists like Ludacris and then working with the actors, Terrence and Taraji, it was a little different. Terrence is a musician. He plays guitar and he knows music, and Taraji is a singer, so they picked it up fast.”

He continues, “They told us what the film was going to be about – a pimp struggling to be a rapper – and then we went and wrote the song. I wasn’t there when they filmed the scene, but Craig took it like it was a missing piece in a puzzle and fit it right in. He’s a brilliant director.”

If you haven’t had the pleasure as of yet, Hustle & Flow tells the story of a Memphis pimp, DJay (Howard), who dreams of reaching higher and making something more of himself. Witnessing the quick success of hometown hero Skinny Black (Ludacris) in the hip-hop arena, DJay discovers he has a voice and he wants it to be heard as well. The question is how accurate is the film to a true hip-hop artist’s experience?

“It’s real accurate,” Beauregard chimes in immediately. “It’s very real.” Houston backs him up, adding “That’s pretty much how every rapper got started. And that concept goes farther, into filmmaking, or doing what you do, everything’s a struggle. I’ve been through every single thing in that movie, trying to get your demo out there, get someone to play it…I’m not going to say I’ve been a pimp or anything, but the rest of it, yeah.”

Working on the film gave Houston the chance to talk with one of his personal icons, Isaac Hayes, who plays the role of dive owner Arnel.

“My influences are Al Green, B.B. King, you know, all the Memphis musicians. But Isaac Hayes has always been my favorite. I’d seen him before around town, you know, at the car wash. I was in the scene in the bar, I played Ludacris’s brother, and me and Isaac got a chance to talk. That was big.”

The most colorful scenario one could imagine involving Three 6 Mafia this year would have to be the annual nominees’ luncheon, which saw the group in the same room as Hollywood’s elite. It was a surreal experience for Houston and the rest of the group to say the least.

“I was thinking, ‘What am I doing here?’ You know, you’re used to sitting in the studio with a bunch of guys drinking beer and smelling like something they shouldn’t be smelling like, and then you pull a switcheroo and you’re in Hollywood in a room with Steven Spielberg and Reese Witherspoon. And she’s sexy, man.”

I had to include that last bit, as it goes to show the genuine awe the Memphis group finds themselves in while still maintaining their personal sense of reality. Fish out of water? Perhaps. But still surrounded by fellow artists nonetheless.

The Hustle & Flow experience has been a welcome one and an exciting one for Three 6 Mafia. As is typical in the city of dreams, further doors have been opening upon the success of the film. Houston isn’t too keen on talking specifically, but the ball seems to be rolling regardless.

“Right now we have some stuff on the table. We’ve had some meetings at Paramount and Revolution Studios. I hope you’ll be hearing our songs in some future films.”

In the meantime, Houston, Beauregard and Coleman are off to the Kodak Theater. They’ll be performing “It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp” along with actress Taraji P. Henson (Howard opted out of performing at the ceremony, but looks forward to Three 6 Mafia’s performance all the same). Many think they have a genuine shot at taking the gold, as very few songs are such a hot button topic of discussion around town. But winning the award seems to be the furthest thing from Houston and Beauregard’s mind.

“We really haven’t made an acceptance speech. We’re real superstitious. We’re not really thinking about winning, we’re just having fun. But if we win, we’ll know who we’ll thank when we get up there.”

The Oscar ceremony is this Sunday, March 5, and one thing is certain. Three 6 Mafia’s mark will be left when the show draws to a close, win, lose or draw. Hip-hop will have arrived at the Kodak Theater in the form of Memphis crunk.