Just three years after Eminem became the first rapper to win an Academy Award, hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia became the second in a win that surprised plenty.
While Eminem didn't receive a nomination for acting, he did make Academy Awards history by being the first rapper to win an Oscar. Eminem's Academy win didn't exactly open the floodgates for hip hop artists, but it did set a precedent.
Three 6 Mafia became the first hip hop group to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the first hip hop artists to perform at the ceremony.
87th Annual Academy Awards - Show
Common's incredible, inspirational year rolled right into his victory at the Academy Awards last night, becoming just the sixth rapper with a statue on his mantlepiece.
Eminem's “Lose Yourself” from 8 Mile becomes first rap song to win an Oscar for best original song. Eminem co-wrote the anthemic hit with Jeff Bass and Luis Resto. Only Resto was present to accept the award, from Barbra Streisand.
MC Hammer was the First Rapper to Have a Diamond Album.
March 23, 2003: Eminem achieved a major milestone on this day in 2003 by becoming the first hip-hop artist to win an Oscar for Best Original Song at the 2003 Academy Awards. The Detroit rhymer won for his song "Lose Yourself," which was featured over the closing credits of 8 Mile, the 2002 semi-biopic about Em's life.
Cardi B became the first solo female rapper to win for Invasion of Privacy. Kanye West was presented the award four times, Kendrick Lamar has received the award three times, and the duo known as Outkast and Tyler, The Creator have all received the award twice.
Winning an Oscar for an original song is definitely a prestigious honor, but perhaps the second most coveted prize for original movie music is the Grammy.
As Billboard continues to highlight music achievements throughout Black History Month, today we're highlighting Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff winning the first rap GRAMMY in 1989 and why they boycotted the ceremony.
Currently tied with Kanye West, Jay Z holds the distinction of rapper with the most GRAMMY wins in history. He made his GRAMMY performance debut at the 48th GRAMMY Awards in 2006 when he teamed with Linkin Park and Paul McCartney for a medley of "Numb/Encore" and "Yesterday."
The major pioneers of rapping were Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Kurtis Blow, and the Cold Crush Brothers, whose Grandmaster Caz is controversially considered by some to be the true author of some of the strongest lyrics in “Rapper's Delight.” These early MCs and deejays constituted rap's old school.
Grammys flashback: When Steely Dan beat Eminem, one of the most controversial races of the 21st century.
Chance The Rapper earned the first three GRAMMYs of his career at the 59th GRAMMY Awards, including Best New Artist. He made his GRAMMY stage debut that same year, performing a medley of "How Great" and "All We Got" alongside GRAMMY winners Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann.
Kendrick Lamar
Next on our list is the artist Kendrick Lamar, who has 17 Grammy Awards including Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance in 2015 for I.
Jay-Z – 24 Grammy Awards
Jay-Z is undoubtedly one of the most decorated hip hop artists of all time, with a whopping 24 Grammy Awards to his name. He won his first award back in 1999 for Best Rap Album with Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life and has been a constant presence at the ceremony ever since.
In 2003, Eminem won the Oscar for best original song for "Lose Yourself," but he didn't attend the awards ceremony to receive his golden statue. In an interview, the rapper said he didn't attend because he didn't think he had any chance of winning. Instead, Barbra Streisand presented the award to co-writer Luis Resto.
Jay-Z has earned his first ever diamond certification. The RIAA noted on Monday (June 12), that his 2011 collaboration with Kanye West, "N-ggas In Paris" achieved 10x platinum status, qualifying it for a diamond plaque with 10,000,000 units sold.
Garth Brooks has received seven Diamond awards for seven individual albums from the RIAA for selling over ten million units each, a feat only he can claim, and is the No.
At the time, Posty joined fellow rappers Juicy J, T.I., OutKast, Tupac Shakur and Drake who have also reached diamond status for either features on a song, their own albums or a song they released during their careers.