The rap group defeated the late icon for Best Original Song in 2006.

Three 6 Mafia reflect on meeting Dolly Parton at the Oscars and receiving congratulatory letter from her

The rap group defeated the late icon for Best Original Song in 2006.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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August 28, 2026 3:24 p.m. ET

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Dolly Parton reacts as “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” by Three 6 Mafia wins Best Original Song at the 78th Oscars. Credit:

Oscars/YouTube; M. Caulfield/WireImage

- Three 6 Mafia reflected on their connection to Dolly Parton.

- The late singer sent a congratulatory letter to the hip-hop group after they defeated her at the Oscars.

- Parton was thankful that someone else from Tennessee won Best Original Song.

It’s hard out here to not love the connection between Three 6 Mafia and the late Dolly Parton.

Wednesday night was a Tennessee love fest on *Jimmy Kimmel Live*. Nashville native Jelly Roll served as guest-host, and he welcomed Memphis rappers Juicy J and Project Pat, also known as Three 6 Mafia. The trio started their conversation off by paying tribute to Parton, another Tennessee legend, who died earlier this week.

Parton and Three 6 Mafia are connected by more than just their home state, as the group beat the country icon in 2006 at the Oscars for Best Original Song. But Parton was as excited as anyone when they won, first cheering emphatically with a huge smile on her face, and then following that up by writing them a note.

“Rest in peace, Dolly Parton,” Juicy J said on *Kimmel*. “We didn’t hear from her until about a week after [the Oscars], she sent us a letter, and she signed it and said, ‘Congratulations, and I’m glad that somebody from Tennessee won the Oscar.’”

Juicy J revealed that he met Parton right before they went out to perform their winning track, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” from the Terrence Howard-led *Hustle & Flow.* “Once we got off stage, we had the longest Oscar party in the world, so we went straight to the bar,” Juicy J added. “Everything changed [after the victory]. Money started kicking in, we did a whole world tour. It’s crazy.”

Three 6 Mafia made history that night, becoming the first hip-hop group to both win and perform at the Oscars. It was even unexpected to them. Speaking to *Variety* in 2021, Juicy J declared, “We was up against Dolly Parton, how is Three 6 Mafia gonna beat Dolly Parton?”

Parton was nominated for her *Transamerica* track “Travelin’ Thru.” She would never earn a competitive Oscar, but, in 2025, Parton was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

“It just felt that somehow Memphis had infiltrated Hollywood,” *Hustle & Flow* writer-director Craig Brewer told *The New York Times* earlier this year. “It just felt like the outsiders, the little guys, got a win...And it even meant more to Memphis. We were up against Dolly Parton. She was who we all adore, but there’s always a little bit of a Memphis-Nashville rivalry.”

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Dolly Parton sent Three 6 Mafia a letter after they beat her at the Oscars

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Juicy J and Project Pat weren’t Parton’s only rap pen pals. After news of Parton’s death, Eminem shared a letter that she sent him in 2022.

“I hope what I have to say will not seem weird or strange to you but I have always felt some unexplained connection to you like I know you somehow,” she wrote. “I had hoped to meet you at the show but you know how nuts those things are, personally I hate ’em and I missed my chance but maybe someday we’ll meet. In the meantime, keep doing what you’re doing because you do it so well and no matter how complex your world may be just know you are very special and touch people in ways you don’t even know.”

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