It's Hard Out Here for Three 6 Mafia

Concertgoer sues Oscar-winning rap group, claiming he was beaten up at 2003 Pittsburgh during performance of "Let's Start a Riot"

By Natalie Finn Mar 18, 2006 3:00 AMTags

Three 6 Mafia, you just won an Oscar, where are you going now?

How about, um, Pittsburgh.

The rap group is heading to the Steel City after getting slapped with a lawsuit from a fan who claims he was beaten up at an Aug. 26, 2003 concert during a performance of the song "Let's Start a Riot."

Ramone Williams, who was 19 at the time of the alleged attack, is suing Three 6 Mafia's individual members--Jordan "Juicy J" Houston, Paul "DJ Paul" Beauregard and Cedric Coleman--the group as a whole and the concert venue. Williams says that members of the audience took the song too seriously, and by the time it ended, he had been thrown to the ground, hit with a chair, stomped on and kicked in the face, leaving him with a fractured jaw.

Two other rappers, Robert "Koopsta Knicca" Cooper and Darnell "Crunchy Black" Carlton, are also named in the complaint. They were the ones who actually performed "Let's Start a Riot" that night.

The lawsuit, filed in July, states that both Three 6 Mafia and the Rock Jungle Night Club in Pittsburgh (which is no longer in business) neglected to warn concertgoers about the possibility of violence that evening, or to protect them when fists--and feet--allegedly started flying.

In a twist of hindsight, Williams is also claiming that the club should not have permitted him--an underage customer--to go in at all.

James E. Pasquale, Williams' attorney, was quoted in the Friday edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Three 6 Mafia have been ordered to give depositions and that he expects the defendants to appear in Pittsburgh by the end of April.

The Memphis-based rappers are being represented by Pittsburgh attorney John E. Hall, who told reporters that the group denies all of Williams' accusations.

A trial could begin by November, per the Post-Gazette.

Up until now Three 6 Mafia have only been guilty of inciting Academy members to vote for them. Their Hustle and Flow anthem, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," snagged the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards earlier this month, prompting host Jon Stewart to remark, "I think it just got a little bit easier out there for a pimp."

Indeed, following their performance and win, the Hustle & Flow soundtrack shot up 70 spots on the Billboard 200 album chart. Three 6 Mafia's latest release, Most Known Unknown, hit stores last September.