Oscars: Best Original Song

"I know one of them thanked Jesus (a quick shot to the back of the theater showed Jesus throwing up a gang sign)." - That's a pretty tasteless thing to write. There is nothing from tonight's telecast that would lead you to believe that any of those 3 guys are members of a gang. It's a racist comment and I suggest you remove it from your posting.

Reply

Actually, Three 6 Mafia perform gangsta rap, and I'll recite some of their lyrics. "If you ain't claiming crips then... Fuck y'all ho's. If you ain't claiming blood then . . . Fuck y'all ho's. If you claiming GD [Gangster Disciples] then . . . fuck y'all ho's. If you ain't claiming VL [Vice Lords} then . . . fuck y'all ho's. If you ain't claiming Latin Kings then . . . fuck y'all ho's."

So I don't think it was a racist comment at all.

Reply

Why can't we simply celebrate the achievement of Three 6 Mafia tonight? Maybe, say, in the same manner that we would any of the other winners.

How about we drop the jokes and the sarcasm? Try something new? (gasp) Is that possible?!?

Reply

I will go on record as stating that Triple 6's victory was the best moment tonight and one of the greatest moments in academy award history.

And that's without sarcasm.

Reply

I am a native Memphian and being from that city I can understand what they are talking about in every song they write. No, I am not a gang banger, drug dealer, prostitute, or some other criminal I am a senior in college with a double major. I am from the same streets they write about in their songs, and I know they are just rapping about what they see on the streets. For years, and even now they made rap songs that catered to the Memphis black youth and then mainstream caught on. What they rap about is what is actually going on in our city. So before you judge them for writing songs like "Pimp" and "F$#ck yall ho's" just listen to them and you will see there is a problem in our city because this is all they and I know about Memphis.

Reply

Lyrics like that won an Oscar? More proof that Hollywood is failing and liberals are taking over the media to run it into the ground...

Reply

Those lyrics are from another Three6Mafia Song. It would be nice if people knew what they were talikng about before adding their 2 cents. Oh well,more proof that conservatives are ignorant of anything non-white and that Republicans can't read.

Reply

I think it's great that Three6Mafia won an Oscar! It's about time that show went out of the norm and gave someone an award for something original and different. About the comment Erik Davis wrote, "I know one of them thanked Jesus (a quick shot to the back of the theater showed Jesus throwing up a gang sign)." Was that really necessary? I don't think so. It's a shame he had to write something like that about people who are actually trying to do something with themselves. If Dolly Parton had won the award, would you still have said something that ignorant? Hmm....makes me wonder.

Reply

The way I heard it was "All those witches talking ship." Brigantines? Schooners? This may be the ABC method from now on when dealing with urban film: "I'm tahred of listening to you witches talking shop about me."
For once during the show, Stewart had the comeback: "Do you know what? I think it just got a little easier out here being a pimp."

Reply

To respond to Neeka, my comment reciting the lyrics of "Fuck y'all hos" was not meant to diminish the accomplishment of Three 6 Mafia in anyway. If I wasn't such a big fan of theirs, you think I could've just recited that line from a random 2002 song off the top of my head? My point was just that the original comment was neither tasteless nor racist, and that the second post by Danny alleging that it was tasteless and racist was less informed than the actual comment itself. It seemed to be made in jest. Did I find the comment about Jesus throwing gang signs funny? Nope. Did I find it offensive? Nope. Am I thrilled that Three 6 Mafia won an academy award and still think it was the greatest moment of broadcast? Yup.

Reply

Sunday night was another milestone for the hip-hop genre. Three 6 Mafia should be commended for their achievement...When you saw Latifah's reaction, you knew immediately who won...That Jesus quote was not called for at all...I wonder what your thoughts were when Eminem won a couple of years ago, hmmm...Give respect to the rap/hip-hop nation and acknowledge the contributions of music...I like what Jon Stewart said afterwards,"Now that's how you accept an Oscar!"...It would've been nice if Terrence Howard won Best Actor but we didnt need another award for a black man playing a stereotypical character.

Reply

I can't believe that a song about pimps won an OSCAR. I am officially boycotting the Oscar's and will no longer be watching. The lyrics to their other songs are EXTREMELY distasteful and a HORRIBLE influence on America's youth! No wonder we have gangs and shootings all the time! The youth of America are looking up to stupid GANGSTER THUGS like these!

Reply

what a piece of trash! The academy wants you to think they are so hip. Well, they are about as hip as a piece of cardboard. The academy members could not vote for the gay cowboy movie, but they think they are so kool by voting on this shit! Fuck u academy members.

Reply

To quote Amy...

"The lyrics to their other songs are EXTREMELY distasteful and a HORRIBLE influence on America's youth! No wonder we have gangs and shootings all the time!"

Are you implying that there were no "gangs and shootings" before Three 6 Mafia or rap music were around?

I don't know if any of you heard the lyrics, but... COULD IT BE? They are actually UNHAPPY about the violence and problems they see, you idiots!

Reply

For a song like that to win is a disgrace to all the other songs that have won the Academy Awards. I feel that Dolly Parton should have won that award. It lived true to the character of the movie. and I was a very beautiful song.

Even the song from Crash was beautiful/ Hell alot beter than the damn Pimp song/

For a song to beat the one of the best singer/songwriters of all time is revolting.

I do not know what the Academy Award members what they were thinking.

Reply

Well I think it was wierd that,the pimp song won. the song had a nice beat to it. Not good enough to win though.

Reply

I'm curious as to what the Acadamey actually uses as it's criteria for best song. I would have to think that they take into account the role a song plays in a film. If that is the case, then why the fuss over "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp" being selected? That song was a HUGE part of that movie. In fact, I think any of the songs from the movie could have been selected. It's obvious that many who oppose the song's selection have not even seen Hustle & Flow and should do so before ostracizing the song. But I guess those people aren't open minded enough to watch an entire movie about a pimp when they can't seem to even stand a 7 word song title with the p-word in it.

Thank you, Amy for your intelligent demonstration on cause and effect. Well thought out.

Reply

If the song was featured on the brokeback mountain soundtrack it would've been called "It's Hard Out Here for a Gay Cowboy." Cinderella Man? "It's Hard Out Here for a Depression Era Irish Boxer." But the song was for the soundtrack to Hustle & Flow, a story about a pimp from Memphis Tennessee, who uses hip hop to escape his life as a pimp. It shows a true socioeconomic situation and breaks free of the stereotypical mold of what a "pimp" is. People like Terrence Howard's character really exist in America. Just like bigots such as Matt Dillon's character in Crash truly exist in America. There are probably many more of the latter than the former. Now who's more disgraceful of a character? Is it the "pimp" in Hustle & Flow, or Matt Dillon's character in Crash?

If you didn't see Hustle & Flow, you have no standing to judge the merits of Three 6 Mafia's song. It's actually quite ignorant to do so. And to judge Three 6 Mafia without even a basic understanding of where they come from is even more ignorant. It's pre-judging something based on what you see on the surface. You see the word "pimp" without realizing the interrelation between the song and the movie. You see black men on stage wearing jewelry and rapping about "pimps" and you automatically discredit the artists, where they come from, and thier musical talents.

Reply

I was surprised at how many people on this Blog actually had something INTELLIGENT to say...until, of course, the Stevens and Matts started weighing in with their "outrage" over this "disgraceful" PIMP song tarnishing the reputation of the Oscars! ...No doubt, this is the same OUTRAGE and INDIGNITY these folks were prepared to trot out had those "Liberal Hollywood" people actually had the Courage to annoint "Brokeback Mountain" with the Gold Statue!
Instead, we are left with a bunch of Neo-Nazi conservative Comments from supposed Movie Lovers who are either Gloating over "Crash" defeating the Fag Movie...and COMPLETELY missing the point of "Crash's" powerful, ALL-INCLUSIVE message of Tolerance...or they are now channelling their (Why-Aren't-You-Half-This-Angry-At-George-Bush?)hatred toward those "N- Word" lowlifes' who took the Oscar away from Dolly Parton! (By the way, if you Tivo'd the Oscars, please note that Dolly's Reaction to their win was one of the Most Genuinely HAPPY reactions of ANY also-ran of the night!)
So, for the record...all you folks who don't get it, who can't understand why Hollywood chose such AWFUL movies, who can't ever be pleased unless a "Titanic" is dominating the show...let's look at WHY that horrible PIMP song WON!!....

In the context of the film, "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" was nothing short of BRILLIANT!! Especially when the Pimp pushes his main Hooker to really SANG, and Boy, does she ever! In that one moment, you feel like there is SOOO much Hope in these peoples' future and the entire film Soars! THIS is what the Academy voted on---the song in the CONTEXT of a film! They didn't vote on the live performance you saw, they voted on the song in the film! If you did not SEE "Hustle & Flow", then SHUT UP!! Save your comments until you get a chance to sit down with the DVD (and, hey, why not see "Brokebake Mountain" at last, too!?! Make it a Double Feature!) And if you STILL have to pretend you're OFFENDED by the Academy's Poor Taste, maybe you really need to actually SEE "Crash", too! You know what? Anyone who GETS what this year's Oscar Winner is trying to say would think TWICE before posting such ignorant, biased, racist, homophobic, intolerant comments as we have seen in these past months.
But, you don't want Movies to ask you to THINK, do you? You don't want to really grow, do you? You don't want people like Ang Lee to tell you about YOUR Country's dirty little secrets, right? You just want to poison the water so that everyone who drinks YOUR ideas ends up as miserable as you are. Admit it! It's time for YOU to grow some balls and face your own dem,ons. And this year's crop of films really COULD help you do that. SEE them. You will be surprised at how much of YOU is actually reflected in almost ALL of these AWFUL Oscar Picks, 2005

I left "Crash" wanting to BE a better person. I left "Brokeback Mountain" wanting to BE Loved. I left "Hustle & Flow" HOPING I would always be able to find the Good in even the Worst people! I'm GLAD The Academy spread the wealth around this year! I'm glad they gave Conservative "Christians" something other than "Brokeback Mountain" to bitch about! And I'm glad that it is now painfully obvious that, just like your Beloved President, the cracks in your Arrogant Tower of Self-Righteousness are now crumbling all around you. You'll see it yourself someday, and no doubt you'll blame it on Hillary or New Orlean's Alarmists or George Clooney and those "Hollywood Liberals".

But until then, I have to wonder why No One has made a film that makes ANYONE want to be a Present Day Conservative "Christian"? Could it be that no one would BELIEVE such a Close-Minded, Opinionated, Evil-Minded, Miserable, Hate-Filled, SMUG Character EXISTS?!

Reply

Lets reflect.... "The Passion of the Christ" movie causes liberals to go off the deep end, yet praise a song "It's hard out here to be a pimp"? Yea, I'll be humming that one along with the likes of Moon River, My Heart will go On, The Shadow of your Smile, Love is a Many Splendored Thing and White Christmas.
I guess is Hollywood, Trash is IN, and anyone with an ounce of morals are OUT.

Reply