
Mahershala Ali is a man of many talents.
But what you probably didnât know about the Oscar winner is that before he was Remy in âHouse of Cardsâ or Cottonmouth in âLuke Cage,â he used to moonlight (get it?) as a rapper. His stage name was Prince Ali.
Ali founded Eye5 Recordings in 2006, after finishing his graduate program at New York Universityâs Tisch School of the Arts, according to his iTunes biography. He went on to release an underground mixtape, âCorner Ensemble.â Aliâs flow impressed Oakland hip-hop pioneers Hieroglyphics enough for them to release and distribute his mixtape and album, âCurb Side Service,â through Hiero Imperium/Fontana Distribution in 2007.Â
The âMoonlightâ star, who was also a guard for Saint Maryâs basketball team throughout college, told GQ that he fell in love with hip-hop when he heard Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rickâs âThe Showâ when he was 12. He said that same love has influenced his acting.
âI love hip-hop. Itâs such an appendage for me,â he said. âItâs something thatâs always shaped my experience out in the world. I always make mixtapes for every character that Iâm playing. Sonically, that character has a soundtrack.â
Listen to the rapper-turned-actorâs singles âThe Path/Honor Codeâ and âThe Majorsâ below.