And the Oscar Goes To... (Revised Edition)
So, given the strength of my reaction, it was inevitable that I would write about this somewhere. Why not in a blog? So here's my post:
I'm lying in bed Sunday night, recovering from a dairy-heavy brunch with the family, and the Best Original Song category comes up at the 78th Annual Academy Awards. Three 6 Mafia had just finished their live performance, during which I was suprised to learn that Taraji P. Henson (rumored to be carrying Common's love-child and wearing what could easily have been a maternity dress) could actually sing and wasn't lip-syncing in the movie. But I digress...
60 seconds later, Queen Latifah is announcing the Best Original Song category and I figure there's about a 25% chance something terrible will happen. Decent odds.
0.05 hours later, I let out a scream unlike anything I've ever heard come out of my own mouth. If my neighbor wasn't 97 and half deaf I'm certain he would've thought I was being slaughtered. And now the question:
Is it really so bad???
Answer: Yes, that shit is terrible.
I've given it some thought, and I've decided that Three 6 Mafia's "Pimp" is the the 21st Century equivalent of Hattie McDaniels' Mammy. Black people won. But you really kinda wish they hadn't. As Ms. Winfrey put it this afternoon, "Martin Luther King don't know what to say."
1) The song is Not Good. At best, the song belongs in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Seriously, if it took more than 5 minutes to write, they should've asked me to write it. (Interestingly, DJ Paul is quoted as saying to the director, "You know, we don't have any talent. We just talk. We don't have any talent." Hmmm....)
2) It's hard to believe that the members of the Academy thought the song was good. I have a theory... There are 2 kinds of people in the world: those who enjoy rap music, and those who think it's all noise. Guess which kind are in the Academy. So if it's a safe bet that Steven Speilberg isn't bumpin' the "Hustle & Flow" soundtrack (and there is no safer bet), then what happened? I say, being the uber-liberals that they are, they gave the black people the benefit of the doubt. Question though: Could 3 white dudes get the benefit of the doubt for a song about pimpin white girls?
3) Remember when Lauryn Hill won 5 Grammys for Miseducation, and it only confirmed her Quality? And then Alicia Keys won 5 for Songs in A Minor, and Beyonce won 5 for Dangerously in Love (and a collabo with Luther). Point is: the value of 5 Grammys drops significantly when they start handing them out like water. Similarly, remember when Eminem won an Oscar for "Lose Yourself," and it made it seem like good music from any genre could get props from the Academy? Well "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" is to "Lose Yourself" what Beyonce is to Lauryn Hill: cool... but not the-industry's-most-prestigious-award cool. And there goes the value of an Oscar.
An interesting final note: Word On the Street is that Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier had words with young Terrance and advised him against performing the song on the show. Apparently they didn't like the idea of potential (black) Academy Award-winner getting pimped out on live international television. (Why Eva Longoria is the source is beyond me.) True or not, I'm posting it because the Elder-Youngin' advice aspect makes it hot to me.
I'm lying in bed Sunday night, recovering from a dairy-heavy brunch with the family, and the Best Original Song category comes up at the 78th Annual Academy Awards. Three 6 Mafia had just finished their live performance, during which I was suprised to learn that Taraji P. Henson (rumored to be carrying Common's love-child and wearing what could easily have been a maternity dress) could actually sing and wasn't lip-syncing in the movie. But I digress...
60 seconds later, Queen Latifah is announcing the Best Original Song category and I figure there's about a 25% chance something terrible will happen. Decent odds.
0.05 hours later, I let out a scream unlike anything I've ever heard come out of my own mouth. If my neighbor wasn't 97 and half deaf I'm certain he would've thought I was being slaughtered. And now the question:
Is it really so bad???
Answer: Yes, that shit is terrible.
I've given it some thought, and I've decided that Three 6 Mafia's "Pimp" is the the 21st Century equivalent of Hattie McDaniels' Mammy. Black people won. But you really kinda wish they hadn't. As Ms. Winfrey put it this afternoon, "Martin Luther King don't know what to say."
1) The song is Not Good. At best, the song belongs in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Seriously, if it took more than 5 minutes to write, they should've asked me to write it. (Interestingly, DJ Paul is quoted as saying to the director, "You know, we don't have any talent. We just talk. We don't have any talent." Hmmm....)
2) It's hard to believe that the members of the Academy thought the song was good. I have a theory... There are 2 kinds of people in the world: those who enjoy rap music, and those who think it's all noise. Guess which kind are in the Academy. So if it's a safe bet that Steven Speilberg isn't bumpin' the "Hustle & Flow" soundtrack (and there is no safer bet), then what happened? I say, being the uber-liberals that they are, they gave the black people the benefit of the doubt. Question though: Could 3 white dudes get the benefit of the doubt for a song about pimpin white girls?
3) Remember when Lauryn Hill won 5 Grammys for Miseducation, and it only confirmed her Quality? And then Alicia Keys won 5 for Songs in A Minor, and Beyonce won 5 for Dangerously in Love (and a collabo with Luther). Point is: the value of 5 Grammys drops significantly when they start handing them out like water. Similarly, remember when Eminem won an Oscar for "Lose Yourself," and it made it seem like good music from any genre could get props from the Academy? Well "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" is to "Lose Yourself" what Beyonce is to Lauryn Hill: cool... but not the-industry's-most-prestigious-award cool. And there goes the value of an Oscar.
An interesting final note: Word On the Street is that Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier had words with young Terrance and advised him against performing the song on the show. Apparently they didn't like the idea of potential (black) Academy Award-winner getting pimped out on live international television. (Why Eva Longoria is the source is beyond me.) True or not, I'm posting it because the Elder-Youngin' advice aspect makes it hot to me.
posted by Puff at 11:51 PM
9 Comments:
hey. i just stumbled on this site and you know what, i truly can't agree with you stance on the 3-6 song.
I saw all 3 films that were nominated for original song, and none of them came close to the impact that "pimp" had on the Hustle and flow film. Original song is just about the song, but I think this win was more about how the song played into the film. Whether you like the song, or the film for that matter is irrevelant, but its hard to deny that the song wasn't a powerful song in the context of that movie. Thats why 3-6 won, and not because its actually hard out there for a pimp. As John Stewart said jokingly after, "i think it just got easier out here for a pimp"
think i'm wrong,crazy, or wack?
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Interestingly enough, I agree with a lot of that comment.
I think relative to the film, the song was a good song. Regardless of whether you liked the song, or liked the movie, the song fit as appropriately as any within the content of the movie. Agreed, it may or may not ACTUALLY be hard out there for a pimp, but within the context of the movie it made sense to me. Yes, Aristocrates just vouched for the validity of a 3-6 Mafia song. In fact, when I heard that THE SONG won, I was unmoved...I felt like it was the best of the lot...and I was like "makes sense." In a movie about a hustlin' hard-life individual who makes it through life as a pimp - it worked (to me). I voted for it in my office Oscar Pool.
NOW, the part I did not realize is that the song was written by, and the award was accepted by 3-6 Mafia. I think one really big reason why the song won is because in most minds it was associated with Terrence Howard (which I'm sure to the "Academy" would be a more accepting member than say 3-6.) In fact, I didn't even know 3-6 wrote the song, so I'm admitting that if I knew before hand that might have shaped my opinion of it. But the first time I heard it was from Terrence Howard's mouth and I knew it was in the context of a movie about man who also moonlighted as a pimp.
*Blog as comment*
Chris Brown made that same argument to me, that it was the best of the three. And in that sense, it's true, maybe it did deserve the oscar. But there's something unsettling about a song like that winning an oscar, let alone reaching number one on the billboard charts. I didn't see the movie, as these days I save my money for movies I truly want to see (few and far between), but it would make sense that the song fit very well in context with the movie, as well. Personally, though, I don't know how I feel about hearing the phrase "and now, to perform, Academy Award Winners Three 6 Mafia!" for the rest of my life.
Lex
I have drafted a number of responses to your post on 3-6 Mafia’s Oscar. Words, phrases, and questions like “hater-ade,” “crabs in a barrel,” and “are you white” came to mind. But I abandoned those in the hopes that I could offer a comment as a counterbalance to your exercise in freedom of expression. I, like you, let forth a screech that probably echoed blocks from my home when 666 Mafia won the Oscar. My words,
“I can’t believe it! Black people on the come up!”
For me, it’s about time that the Academy opened its narrow vision of artistic expression. It is my firm hope and belief that MLK, Malcolm, Fannie Lou and others would exclaim the same or something similar. You see, freedom fighters fought and fight for freedom—including freedom of expression, not the expression of high art or that coming from politically respectable and publicly vetted artists like Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z, or even the woman-beating Miles Davis, but from ALL—including triple 6 Mafia.
Do the members of the Academy actually have to have your taste in rap music? Not one of us has the definitive palate for all tasteful music. 3-6 Mafia had a story to tell with their song and they told it. It may not be a story that all of us can identify with, but it is a story that someone can identify with and it is our duty and obligation to ensure that that story doesn’t get lost in the fray. It may seem as though I am over-romanticizing the Award, the song, or the rappers. But I’m not. I am a bit taken aback by the strong desire to uphold someone else’s notions of respectability charging that 3-6’s Academy Award winning song devalues the Oscar or the Academy Awards. Shouldn’t inclusiveness up the ante for the Academy Awards? “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” may not be your lived experience or fit your listening tastes, but can’t we all celebrate the increasing diversity and ever-expanding definitions of art and what the people who make art look like? Why would anyone want to take 3-6 Mafia’s joy? They won. Great. Now on to the next victory.
It is precisely the “there goes the neighborhood (or the value of an Oscar)” that has allowed blacks to oppress other blacks, allowing many of us to remain crabs in a barrel never escaping the desire to pull down those ahead of us with the intention of standing on them in our efforts to make it to the top. That is precisely the bourgeois snobbery and cocksure attitude that keeps the legacy of intra-racial dominance prominent and everlasting. You don’t have to use a weapon to take part in black-on-black crime (assuming you’re black).
Don’t get it twisted, Terrance Howard was nominated for his performance of that song in a movie. He really shouldn’t have needed the advice from Denzel or Mr. Poitier to tell him not to perform the song on stage. Why would the Academy ask Terrance to perform without asking the other actors in his category to perform in character as well? We’re asking the wrong questions…
Lastly, talent is meaningless without recognition (thanks, e). Anyone with the right spin can have talent. It takes a particularly special kind of talent to tell the truth…
Why do black people have such a overwhelming desire to be gatekeeepers (assuming you're black and identify as such)?
'it's hard out here for a pimp' became hustle & flow just as 'lose yourself' did 8 mile. based on your theory (rap: love it or hate it) and past being precedent you could've predicted the 3-6 win.
an original song must be created especially for the film with input from the filmmaker and have relevance/impact. it's not about what members of the academy have on their ipods. which is appropriate considering its the oscars not the grammys and there are rules to be followed.
what's interesting about your post is that you don't argue the song didn't work for the movie or that there was a more deserving nominee. the crux of your commentary is that you didn't like that song winning the oscar. nor did you appreciate hattie mcdaniel's performance in gone with the wind.
considering those sentiments collectively, it would appear your issue is one of image and not merit.
you would probably prefer black artists be showcased for excellence in roles and performances that are a bit more, shall we say, palatable? in fact, you may even prefer that the artists themselves were a bit more refined.
a partiality that reeks of class bias.
p.s. washington & poitier's recommendation is a bit sophistic considering 'young terrence' was nominated for playing a pimp in a movie that showed to an international audience. and he did it for a paltry $12G's.
welcome, puff.
i look forward to your future posts.
if youve read this far, and have any sense, you know that we're in serious trouble.
sidenotes:
-did this chic really just talk about reeking of class bias and then use the word "sophistic" in a sentence?
-somebody tell me i didnt just read the following three quotes in succession in response to 666 Mafia's award:
“I can’t believe it! Black people on the come up!”
immediately followed by,
"It is my FIRM hope and BELIEF that...MLK & MALCOLM...would exclaim THE SAME OR SOMETHING SIMILAR."
[?!?!?!???]
and finishing strong with,
"You see, freedom fighters fought and fight for freedom...
[ok. pause, go back, and read that masterpiece of reasoning one more time. out loud.]
...including freedom of expression...from ALL."
[you know, in retrospect, this might be one of the most retarded - and historically inaccurate - logical extrapolations ive ever read. but i probly shouldve seen it coming with that "you see, freedom fighters fight for freedom" opening.]
w
wow.
wow.
wow.
w
stay up puff.
I love comments that hit on issues of respectability, culture, and class. An argument centered on linguistics would have been nice to read as well. oh well, maybe next time => I did expect my boy Aristo to talk about how we can coeval though =>
Speed up the chick in the background and listen to what she is actually saying...shouldn't be surprising based on the name of the group, but it is quite chilling and revealing.
In addition, I think it may be safe to say that one is not defined by his/her "blog" comments. How are we so sure about your ethnic/racial background(becomingme)? Further, I think the tone and content of your comments are inconsistent with the message you attempted to deliver, which to some extents I agree with. Everyone doesn't have to agree but the least we can do is envisage each other's Opinions as what they are - opinions.
...The truth of the matter is that it can be really hard out here for anyone...I mean have you seen Hammer's website?
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