Culture 3 min read By Mason Emerson
Tom Hardy releases debut rap album with Czarface under Frankie Pulitzer alias
Tom Hardy has released his first official rap album, a 15-track collaboration with hip-hop collective Czarface, performing under the Frankie Pulitzer moniker and resurrecting his Bane voice for a Shakespeare recital.
Tom Hardy has officially entered the rap game with a full-length album. The Oscar-nominated actor released his first official rap record on Friday, August 28, under the moniker Frankie Pulitzer, teaming up with the hip-hop collective Czarface for the 15-track project titled ‘Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer’.
The album, released via Silver Age after being announced in June, is a complete collaboration with Czarface, the group made up of Wu-Tang Clan rapper Inspectah Deck and underground duo 7L & Esoteric. The record features guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, Method Man, and El-P, and finds Hardy making sly references to his own acting career throughout the tracks.
One of the most notable moments comes on ‘Grim-Visaged War’, where Hardy recites the opening “winter of our discontent” monologue from Shakespeare’s Richard III using the distinctive voice of Bane, the villain he portrayed in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. The choice connects his film work directly to his new musical output, giving fans a familiar touchstone within the unexpected project.
Hardy’s lyrics also nod to other parts of pop culture. On ‘Raw Forever’, his collaboration with Busta Rhymes, he references Nicolas Cage and Martin Scorsese’s 1999 film Bringing Out The Dead, rapping: “I’m bringing out the dead like a paramedic out the Cage, directed by Marty.” He then invokes Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin from 2002’s Spider-Man and Marvel villain Doctor Doom. On ‘Mad Technology’, he turns to Stephen King, referencing both Cujo and Misery, with an explicit shout-out to the latter film’s Oscar-winning star Kathy Bates.
This is not Hardy’s first brush with hip-hop. His history with the genre stretches back to a mixtape titled ‘Falling On Your Arse In 1999’, recorded under the name Tommy No. 1, which surfaced online in 2018. Later that same year, reports emerged that he was working on a grime album, though that project never materialised. The new record with Czarface marks his most substantial musical statement to date.
Czarface themselves have a strong track record of collaborations, having previously worked with Ghostface Killah and the late MF DOOM. Their second album with DOOM, 2021’s ‘Super What?’, received a three-star review from NME, with the critic noting that Esoteric’s voice recalls the clipped drawl of Jay-Z, and that the production would not feel out of place alongside Hova’s seminal ‘The Blueprint’.
Beyond music, Hardy continues his acting work. He will return as fixer Harry Da Souza when the second season of MobLand premieres on September 18. The new album adds another layer to his multifaceted career, showing that his creative ambitions extend well beyond the screen.
