The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences revealed the nominees for the 78th Annual Academy Awards earlier today notably honoring Three 6 Mafia, the Dirty South’s most uncompromising hip-hop ensemble, with a nomination in the Best Achievement In Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) category.

Three 6 Mafia’s track, “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp,” from the highly-acclaimed hip-hop drama “Hustle & Flow” (which won the Audience Award at Sundance), paints an unflinching and indelible picture of the gritty world of grass-roots hip-hop, mirroring in music the blistering inner-city turmoil portrayed in the film.

“It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” features music and lyric by Jordan (Juicy J) Houston, Cedric (Crunchy Black) Coleman and Paul (DJ Paul) Beauregard (aka Three 6 Mafia).

Written and directed by Craig Brewer, “Hustle & Flow” (Paramount Classics, MTV Films and New Deal Entertainment) presents a tough and honest look at the hip-hop underground of Memphis, Tennessee, the birthplace of Three 6 Mafia.

The Academy Award nomination is the latest in a series of triumphs for Three 6 Mafia, who’ve just become the first African-American rap group in history to be nominated for a Best Song Oscar trophy. It’s also a major victory for hip-hop itself as the groundbreaking art form, as represented by Three 6 Mafia, breaks out of the underground and achieves bona fide recognition from the entertainment mainstream. The Three 6 Mafia nomination marks the second time in Oscar history that a hip-hop act has been honored with a Best Song nomination by the Academy. The first was Eminem for “8 Mile” in 2002 (he won).

Wow, the Oscars will be grooving to “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.”  I may tune in to the show just to see that.