Tom Hardy, the Oscar-nominated actor, has officially released his debut rap album, 'Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer'. Performing under the name Frankie Pulitzer, Hardy's 15-track collaboration with hip-hop collective Czarface arrived on Friday, August 28.
The album features guest appearances from notable artists including Busta Rhymes, Method Man, and El-P. Hardy makes references to his acting career throughout the record, notably reciting the opening monologue from Shakespeare's Richard III in the distinctive voice of Bane, his character from 2012's 'The Dark Knight Rises', on the track 'Grim-Visaged War'.
Other tracks include 'Raw Forever', a collaboration with Busta Rhymes, which references Nicolas Cage and Martin Scorsese's 1999 film 'Bringing Out The Dead'. On 'Mad Technology', Hardy invokes Stephen King's 'Cujo' and 'Misery', explicitly mentioning the latter film's Oscar-winning star, Kathy Bates.
Hardy's history with hip-hop includes a mixtape from 1999 titled 'Falling On Your Arse In 1999', released under the name Tommy No. 1, which surfaced online in 2018. Reports of a grime album in the same year did not materialise.