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.[1] The group’s 1995 debut album Mystic Stylez became an influential cult classic.[2] 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), the latter featured 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.
“Stay Fly” is the first single from hip hop group Three 6 Mafia‘s 2005 album Most Known Unknown. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 to become the group’s biggest hit.[2] The track, which samples “Tell Me Why Has Our Love Turned Cold” by Willie Hutch, features fellow Memphis rap duo 8Ball & MJG and Young Buck, a member of G-Unit. The single helped propel Most Known Unknown to RIAA platinum status. The single itself achieved 2x multi-platinum (double platinum) RIAA certification status on December 11, 2006.[3]
The video features an appearance from newly recruited G-Unit member Spider Loc. Remix featured Southern rappers such as Slim Thug, Trick Daddy and Three 6 Mafia affiliate Project Pat (Juicy J, DJ Paul & Crunchy Black all return with new verses). The “Bay Area Remix” features E-40. The screwed and chopped version (done by Michael 5000 Watts) features part of the instrumental of “P*ssy Got Ya Hooked”.
Controversy
Three 6 Mafia has previously rapped about the devil in its music before, such as on Mystic Stylez. Due to this, and the group’s name being an allusion to the mark of the beast “666” in the Bible, there is a misconception that the song’s sample of Willie Hutch‘s “Tell Me Why Has Our Love Turned Cold” say “Lucifer, you’re my king, you’re my father” instead of the actual lyrics “you’re my pride, you’re my king, you’re my father.”
