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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.

History

1988–1990: Origins

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, 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.

1991–1992: The beginning

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.