When Three 6 Mafia first emerged on the local Memphis scene in 1991 with their lo-fi horror beats and triple-time flows, it must have struck fear in the hearts of their hip-hop rivals, and not just because of their comically violent subject matter. A new, fresh sound was emerging from the South and Three 6 Mafia helped to ensure that Memphis was at the epicenter of the movement that would come to be called “crunk” and eventually “trap.”
While the group’s influence was largely relegated to the South in the beginning of their career, they quickly became international superstars and bona fide commercial juggernauts, producing a string of self-produced albums and hits that would transform the genre. The group officially entered the mainstream consciousness in 2006 when they became the first hip-hop group to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the first rap artists to perform at the ceremony.
