Three 6 Mafia is an American hip hop group from Memphis, Tennessee. Originally called "Backyard Posse," the group has included many members, including Gangsta Blac, Gangsta Boo, La' Chat, Koopsta Knicca, Lord Infamous, Playa Fly and Crunchy Black. The group now consists of only Juicy J and DJ Paul, who also serve as in-house producers. Project Pat was signed to their label, Hypnotize Minds, along with Lil' Wyte, prior to it going defunct in 2012. The group is famous for its gruesome horrorcore-esque lyrics with topics ranging between drug use, murder, and other violent or illegal topics. They are famous for being pioneers of the crunk sound, as well as being the first rap artists from Memphis to go platinum. In 1995, the Memphis underground rap group, then named "Triple 6 Mafia", released its first official album, Mystic Stylez. It had recorded this album 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. It was also rumors that the name was changed due to copyright reasons because of 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 diss of Three Six. Eventually, the two groups settled their problems in family court in June 1996. Eventually, Three 6 Mafia moved towards the "crunk" style of rap, which is mainly characterized by repetitive chanting aimed at hyping a crowd. This direction (exemplified by songs like "Sippin' on Syrup" with Houston duo UGK) helped them reach number 6 on the Billboard album chart in 2000 with their CD 6661: When the Smoke Clears. Unfortunately, Three 6 Mafia has lost most of its members. Koopsta Knicca left because of a monetary dispute, while La Chat is currently pursuing a solo career. It's rumored that Gangsta Boo 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 passed away in 2013. T-Rock 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 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 claimed he was on "holiday.” He returned to Three 6 Mafia, but passed away. In January 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. 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. Origin: Memphis, Tennessee Year Formed: 1991