# It's Hard Out There for a Pimp: Deserving of Best Song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2006, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333 "2006-03-07T01:56:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/1 "2006-03-07T01:56:15Z")
**Disclaimer** : I can’t by any stretch be said to be a fan of rap music. I don’t own any rap, and I rarely listen to it. I do enjoy some of it in some circumstances (nice background music at some social gatherings, some nice dance rhythms), but I can’t see that a rap song would make my “top 100 songs of all time” list. So, was “It’s Hard Out There for a Pimp” really the best song in the movies last year? Is it even a really good rap song? Was it just rap’s “turn” to win an Oscar? I can look past the controversial lyrics, but I’m curious to know what the rest of this board thinks. Were there really on 3 songs nominated? Why only 3? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/2 "2006-03-07T02:10:32Z")
It worked really well within the context of the movie (and sounded better too), The scene where they’re recording that song is one of the best in the movie. I’m no connoisseur of rap either but I enjoyed it. It really sounds better with Terrence Howard doing the rapping. ---
**Author:** ![ayalabmaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@ayalabmaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ayalabmaj)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/3 "2006-03-07T02:23:27Z")
Heck yes it deserved to win. Great to see Three 6 getting recognition. Tom Breihan on the Village Voice [Status Ain’t Hood](http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/statusainthood/archives/2006/02/three_6_mafia_o_1.php) blog had a lot of good stuff to say about this back when the nominations were announced: > [@](#): > > To put all this in perspective, a year ago it would’ve been virtually impossible to imagine Three 6 even getting nominated for a Grammy. They have more than ten years of regional hits behind them, and their slow-churning horror-movie production is unquestionably a huge influence on more famous guys like Lil Jon . . . The fact that they were even involved with Hustle & Flow is pretty incredible; the filmmakers were making a movie about crunk and everything, but they went with the grizzly paleolithic Memphis style instead of the more commercial, amped-up Atlanta strain . . . > > There’s precedent, I guess. Eminem actually won a Best Original Song Oscar for “Lose Yourself,” and you can find parallels if you look for them. Both “Lose Yourself” and “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” are heavy, guttural, emotional rap songs with sweeping, cinematic live instrumentation and hard-won triumph-through-struggle snarls. Both songs were written and produced by guys famous for making violent music. But Eminem was probably America’s biggest pop star when he was nominated; Three 6 are anything but. Also, Eminem can rap; Terrence Howard can’t. But if the Three 6 guys get to perform the song or at least act as hypemen for Terrence Howard on the Oscar telecast (please God), it’ll make for the most euphorically weird Oscar moment since Elliott Smith stood next to Celine Dion. If they actually win, it’ll be a bigger upset than Isaac Hayes winning for “Theme From Shaft” in 1971. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/4 "2006-03-07T03:18:13Z")
I thought it was a pretty weak song, though I’m not fan of rap so my opinion may be weighted. What I heard of the competition seemed really weak, too – Parton’s number was a real yawner, too – maybe that was the problem. I’d take several of the jazzy incidental music bits for the Saiyuki anime series over any of the ones I heard, easily. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/5 "2006-03-07T03:18:19Z")
I’m still not sure what the “rimp” is that the pimp is trying to get the money for. Or is it a “pent” that’s trying to get the money for the rent? I’m sure I’m misunderstanding it one way or the other. I don’t know much about rap, but I know it’s suppose to rhyme. I’m sure artists as talented as 3 Six (or whatever) know that “rent” and “pimp” aren’t even close to rhyming. So I’m sure I’m just misunderstanding one word. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/6 "2006-03-07T03:42:50Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > I’m still not sure what the “rimp” is that the pimp is trying to get the money for. Or is it a “pent” that’s trying to get the money for the rent? I’m sure I’m misunderstanding it one way or the other. I don’t know much about rap, but I know it’s suppose to rhyme. I’m sure artists as talented as 3 Six (or whatever) know that “rent” and “pimp” aren’t even close to rhyming. So I’m sure I’m just misunderstanding one word. Well, the second line ends with “rent” and the third line ends with “spent,” while the first line ends with “pimp” and the fourth line ends with “shit,” leaving an A-B-B-A pattern known as an enclosed rhyme. Or it might just be that the rhymes aren’t exact. Rappers aren’t exactly rigid in this regard. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/7 "2006-03-07T04:13:48Z")
At least they aren’t randomly tossing in lunch meat to rhyme with! (A song that made me laugh my ass off several years ago was by IAM - “Yo, IAM, SUNZ OF MAN from the ROYAL FAM Never ate ham, never gave a damn”. Seriously, that’s the best you could do?) Yes, I Googled that. All I remembered for sure was the “never ate ham” part. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/8 "2006-03-07T12:52:31Z")
Eminem Got an Oscar for best Song a few years back for 8-Mile right? At the very least, this helped pave the way. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/9 "2006-03-07T13:51:36Z")
**Snoops** , the last line ends with “ship,” not “shit.” You know it’s hard out here for a pimp Tryin’ to get the money for the rent With the cadillac’s gas money spent, Ya got a whole lotta bitches jumpin’ ship. I think it works. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/10 "2006-03-07T13:51:52Z")
At least Eminem had a sort of half-assed clever sass. All this had going for it was a genre that makes producers’ eyeballs go _ka-ching._ Am I right that this was the first Oscar number to feature a burning car? Is it at all possible that it will be the last? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/11 "2006-03-07T14:06:34Z")
[QUOTE=Snickers] **Snoops** , the last line ends with “ship,” not “shit.” You know it’s hard out here for a pimp Tryin’ to get the money for the rent With the cadillac’s gas money spent, Ya got a whole lotta bitches jumpin’ ship. I think it works. [/QUOTE] Oops! Well, the first time I heard the song was on the awards show itself, and I thought that the bitches in question were “talkin’ shit.” ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/12 "2006-03-07T14:07:55Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Am I right that this was the first Oscar number to feature a burning car? Is it at all possible that it will be the last? [/QUOTE] Ummmm . . that was in the little forgettable number from CRASH. (And I LOVED the Pimp song!) ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/13 "2006-03-07T14:20:22Z")
I really think it helps to see this song in the context of the movie. How the song is crafted and comes together in the movie is really terrific. I loved it. I also think that maybe what sets this song apart from the other two that were nominated (I could definitely be wrong here. I have no idea how they judge these things.) is that the song actually meant something to the movie. It was an important part of the movie, and encapsulated a lot of what was going on. I think it’s great that it won, and that we’ve finally moved beyond having some lame song from an animated film win every year. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/14 "2006-03-07T14:27:26Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] It worked really well within the context of the movie [/quote] Ding. > [@](#): > > (and sounded better too), Ding. > [@](#): > > The scene where they’re recording that song is one of the best in the movie. Ding. > [@](#): > > It really sounds better with Terrence Howard doing the rapping. And, DING! The scene in the movie is excellent. They’ve put together a make shift studio. They trying to find a hook to go along with the rap lyrics. They just bring in one of his hoes, and the pimp really gets her to “go there” with the vocals. Very memorable, and very authentic feeling, well executed for a movie that ALMOST crossed over into “cheesy” territory more than once. As far as a rap song goes, the rapping itself isn’t top notch, but the chorus is a great hook. It’s a pretty good song. . .reminds me a little of “G’z and Hustlas” from “Doggystyle” in the way that he flows right up to the hook which has a different style & tempo altogether. In all, I think the song deservedly won. Most oscar-winner songs are COMPLETE pieces of shit, and they always seem to be something that just run through the credits, having nothing to do with the film. This song was good AND it was an integral part of the movie. (it’s a good movie, too) ---
**Author:** ![ayalabmaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@ayalabmaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ayalabmaj)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/15 "2006-03-07T15:11:47Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] I’m sure artists as talented as 3 Six (or whatever) [/QUOTE] Just in the interests of fighting ignorance (and also to ensure that some artists I think are great are getting their credit :)), the group’s full name is Three 6 Mafia - they used to be Triple 6 Mafia, but changed their name to avoid the negative attention attracted by the connection to satanism. That’s right, folks, Beelzebub-love is not just for metal! Three 6 Mafia are producers as well as rappers, and their website promoting their production business has already been updated to mention that they’re now “Academy Award winners Three 6 Mafia.” I love it - they seem genuinely thrilled to have won the award. It’s good to see some actual enthusiasm amidst all the glitz. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/16 "2006-03-07T15:50:37Z")
As I was drufting off to sleep last night, I seem to remember hearing something about how the song is already embroiled in controversy… something about how it winning the award is an insult to some group or another (rap musicians I suppose?) since it insinuates this is the best they can do. Did I dream that or is that accusation really being made? I Googled the name and Chris Matthews as I believe he was the moderator but came up with nothing. Apologies if this was merely due to sleephaziness. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/17 "2006-03-07T16:05:08Z")
I wasn’t impressed by any of the songs, but just saying “Oscar Winners Three Six Mafia” is really, really fun. And they had by far the most amusing acceptance speech of the evening. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/18 "2006-03-07T17:13:50Z")
Seriously, before you go off on this song, you’ve got to see the movie. The first screening I saw of _Hustle and Flow_ the audience actually applauded in the middle of the movie when Our Intrepid Rappers were recording. It’s absolutely great filmmaking. The song is vital to the story. Was it the best musical moment in the movies last year? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/19 "2006-03-07T17:27:11Z")
I am a huge fan of rap music, but I was thoroughly unimpressed by the song. I actually thought the chorus was annoying. However, as others have mentioned, I imagine I’d get a much different feel for it if I’d seen it in the context of the film. I’m still looking forward to catching the movie at some point. ---
**Author:** ![iluvurmom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iluvurmom/32/7276_2.png) [@iluvurmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iluvurmom)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333/20 "2006-03-07T19:49:13Z")
i watched the youtube clip of those dj paul and juicy j’s performance on repeat yesterday. the acceptance speech was the best part of the damn oscars. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-hard-out-there-for-a-pimp-deserving-of-best-song/347333.md?page=2)