In the words of host Jon Stewart, "In case you're keeping score at home: Scorsese, zero Oscars. Three 6 Mafia, one."

It was one of the biggest surprises of the 78th Annual Academy Awards, and one of its most conspicuously plotted moments. Jordan Houstan, Cedric Coleman, and Paul Beauregard took the stage as Three 6 Mafia to perform their Academy Award-nominated "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from the film Hustle & Flow, and returned to the stage moments later to claim the Oscar.

In recent years, the silver screen as been noticeably slow to acknowledge the rise of hip hop culture, and while it was not the first rap song to win an Oscar (Eminem accomplished the feat most recently with "Lose Yourself" at the 2003 award show), it was the first time a rap group performed its entry live at the Academy Awards. As such, precautions were taken; "Pimp," hardly the family-friendly fare the Best Song category is used to, was bleeped frequently, and the lyrics "bitches talkin' shit," were amended to, "witches jumpin' ship." Apparently, prime time censorship is the price you pay for an Oscar.

Souther rapper Ludacris introduced Three 6 Mafia to the assembled Academy, noting that previous Oscar-winners for Best Song had included such double-entendres as "Shaft," "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," and "Morning After." The Academy giggled politely, and Three 6 Mafia took the stage. They were called back by presenter Queen Latifah just seconds later as she grinned and sang the song's title upon opening the envelope.

Houstan, Coleman, and Beauregard rushed to a stage less-frequented by their brand of microphone-sharing acceptances, but the oft-unintelligible speech the Mafia crew offered was drowned only by the group's enthusiasm. Having exited the stage, Stewart was clearly amused by the scene and offered several jokes, including his on-stage observation several minutes later, "You know, I can still hear the Three 6 Mafia from here."