Oscar Winner Mahershala Ali Spit Rhymes In 2009 As 'Prince Ali'

28 Feb 2017

WATCH: Oscar-Winning Actor Mahershala Ali Used To Be A Rapper And Is Secretly Good

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Before he was soaking up Oscar glory and starring in films like ‘Moonlight,’ ‘Hidden Figures,’ and ‘Luke Cage,’ Mahershala Ali could spit some dope bars.

Back in 2009, the award-winning actor was writing and performing hip-hop under the moniker ‘Prince Ali’. It turns out he was damn good too. Ali was releasing tunes under Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings – an Oakland-based, independent record label known for underground hip hop. Extra 10 points for sweet early-noughties editing visuals!

Check out a taste of his Oscar-worthy performance in ‘The Path / Honor Code’ below, plus some other taste-testers. If you like what you hear, you can check out more Prince Ali tunes here.