English actor Tom Hardy officially launched his music career on August 28 by dropping his debut rap album under the stage name Frankie Pulitzer.
The 48-year-old star shocked fans by releasing the 15-song project in collaboration with the American hip-hop group Czarface, titled Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer. Czarface, an underground hip-hop supergroup formed by Boston producers 7L and Esoteric alongside Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck, teamed up with the actor to produce the collaborative record.
The project features guest appearances from prominent rap figures including veteran hitmaker Busta Rhymes, Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man, and Run the Jewels rapper EL-P. Alongside heavy hip-hop production, the tracklist is packed with pop culture-centered lyrics focused on Hardy's better-known career in cinema.
Cinematic references and Shakespearean lyrics
Throughout the album, Hardy weaves references to famous filmmakers, co-stars, and literary works into his rhymes. On the track "Raw Forever," he incorporates lyrics mentioning his Spider-Man: No Way Home co-star Willem Dafoe, as well as director Martin Scorsese's 1999 psychological drama film Bringing Out the Dead, which starred Nicolas Cage as a burnt-out paramedic.
Another track, "Mad Technology," includes literary allusions to prolific American horror author Stephen King. Meanwhile, on "Gnawing at My Rhyme Like a Poisonous Rat," Hardy draws inspiration from his passion for the arts by referencing the iconic quote "draw me like one of your French girls" from director James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster romance Titanic. Rapping on the track, Hardy delivers the line: "You act amused like [Leonardo] DiCaprio scratching his pencils to capture your figure."
The 15-track album also incorporates a nostalgic throwback to one of Hardy's most celebrated screen roles. For the song "Grim-Visaged War," he recites lines from William Shakespeare's historical play Richard III while using the muffled, menacing voice he famously adopted to portray the villain Bane in director Christopher Nolan's 2012 Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.
Decades of passion for hip-hop
Although Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer marks Hardy's official debut album release, his involvement with hip-hop stretches back decades. The star, known for his work in the crime drama project MobLand as well as blockbuster movies including George Miller's 2015 action film Mad Max: Fury Road and Steven Knight's 2013 drama Locke, has previously spoken about his lifelong love for rapping.
In 2018, former music producer Edward Tracy revealed a glimpse of the actor's early musical output when he released a 1999 rap mixtape recorded by Hardy titled Falling on Your Arse. Tracy uploaded the archival tracks to the online indie music platform BandCamp under the moniker Eddie Too Tall and Hardy's original rap pseudonym, Tommy No. 1.
Hardy previously reflected on his initial steps into hip-hop during a 2011 interview with the BBC. "I started out rapping when I was 14 or 15," Hardy told the British broadcaster at the time. "Because I come from a nice middle-class neighborhood it was a very hard sell. And I wasn't very good!"
He added back then that he had accumulated a substantial collection of unreleased recordings that had remained tucked away in private vaults. "I've recorded loads of stuff but it's never been released," he said.
Unreleased material and future prospects
The actor suggested that he continues to make music privately alongside close friends, noting that his rap work could eventually feature in future acting projects. "I've got albums, man," Hardy remarked. "My best friend Peanut, he grew up in the south Bronx. He's a very good MC and we still play. It'll come out in a film one day, it'll come out in a character somewhere."
