--- description: Before Mahershala Ali took home an Oscar for his performance in 'Moonlight,' he was a rapper with Bay Area label Hiero Imperium. title: Watch Mahershala Ali's Old Rap Video From His Early Career image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt135a62c968a26918/6988bc8c2dce01480c9ec78a/mahershala-ali-rapper.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mahershala Ali Was an Underground Rapper Before He Was an Oscar Winner  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 1, 2017 6:39 PM CUT  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 1, 2017 6:39 PM CUT While most people know [Mahershala Ali](http://time.com/4667256/mahershala-ali-facts/ "undefined") for his recent [Best Supporting Actor Oscars win for _Moonlight_](http://time.com/4680083/oscars-2017-winners-list/ "undefined") or his roles on television shows like [_Luke Cage_](http://time.com/luke-cage-team/ "undefined") and [_House of Cards_](http://time.com/4259144/house-of-cards-season-4-recap/ "undefined"), Ali has a wide range of talents that include being able to spit bars with the best of them. [_The Fader_](http://www.thefader.com/2017/02/27/mahershala-ali-moonlight-rapper-prince-ali-hieroglyphics "undefined") found that according to his [iTunes biography](https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/prince-ali/id202707602#fullText?uo=8&at=1010l4BX "undefined"), Ali performed under the name of Prince Ali and founded his own label Eye5 Recordings in 2006 while releasing a mixtape called _Corner Ensemble._ He was later signed to Hiero Imperium, the label founded by legendary Bay Area hip-hop crew Hieroglyphics with whom he released both the mixtape and a debut album, _Curb Side Service_. If you’d like to see Ali spit rhymes for yourself, watch one of his music videos below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4687230/mahershala-ali-rap-video/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4687230/mahershala-ali-rap-video/"},"headline":"Mahershala Ali Was an Underground Rapper Before He Was an Oscar Winner","datePublished":"2017-03-01T18:39:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:56:51.500Z","description":"\"Prince Ali\" had bars","url":"https://time.com/4687230/mahershala-ali-rap-video/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Music","viral","celebrity","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt135a62c968a26918/6988bc8c2dce01480c9ec78a/mahershala-ali-rapper.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt135a62c968a26918/6988bc8c2dce01480c9ec78a/mahershala-ali-rapper.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"89th Annual Academy Awards - Press Room","caption":"89th Annual Academy Awards - Press Room","creditText":"Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4687230/mahershala-ali-rap-video/","name":"Mahershala Ali Was an Underground Rapper Before He Was an Oscar Winner"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Video Is No Longer Available","description":"\"Prince Ali\" had bars","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fKodeUO6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-06-23T15:00:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4687230/mahershala-ali-rap-video/","duration":"PT10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4687230/mahershala-ali-rap-video/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```