The only rappers to have won an Oscar
The Academy Awards ceremony is one of the most prestigious events in Hollywood, welcoming millions of viewers every year to tune in and watch celebrities nervously wait to be crowned the best in their category. A chance for people to celebrate the best of the film industry and potentially glimpse some of the year’s biggest star-studded scandals, the Oscars provide endless entertainment each year.
For some actors, winning a golden statuette is the ultimate goal, training their whole lives with the aim of taking to the stage in front of the industry’s finest names and accepting an award held in the highest esteem. Winning an Oscar is, for many, a symbol of ultimate success and reward, placing an actor in the upper echelons of Hollywood royalty.
However, the Oscars don’t just honour acting and directing, of course. The Academy aim to celebrate every aspect of filmmaking, from sound design to costume and music. The ‘Best Original Song’ category has awarded some of music’s biggest names with a golden trophy, including Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Carly Simon and Bruce Springsteen.
Here, we will examine all the times rappers have taken home an Academy Award, starting with Eminem’s 2003 win for ‘Lose Yourself’ from 8 Mile. Marshall Mathers also starred in the film, directed by Curtis Hanson, as a budding rapper known as B-Rabbit, trying to make it in Detroit. The track is now Eminem’s most well-known song, even to those who haven’t seen the film, featuring the classic lines, “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy/ There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti.”
The next rappers to bag a ‘Best Original Song’ award were Three 6 Mafia and Frayser Boy, who lent ‘It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp’ to Craig Brewer’s Hustle & Flow in 2005. The movie starred Terrence Howard as an aspiring rapper, earning him a ‘Best Actor’ nomination, although he lost out to Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. Three 6 Mafia, alongside Taraji P. Henson, sang the track at the award ceremony, making it the first hip-hop performance to take place at the Oscars.
It wasn’t until 2015 that another rapper bagged an award. This time, it was Common, who collaborated with John Legend to create ‘Glory’, which appeared in Ava DuVernay’s Selma. The movie depicts Martin Luther King’s involvement in the civil rights movement, focusing on the voting rights marches which began in Selma.
The only other two instances that rappers have been involved in an Oscar-winning movie include Ludacris’ performance in Crash, which won ‘Best Picture’, and P Diddy’s executive producer credit on ‘Best Documentary’ winner Undefeated. However, neither rapper technically bagged the golden statuettes themselves.
The only rappers to win Oscars:
- Eminem
- Three 6 Mafia and Frayser Boy
- Common
