Countless musicians have attempted to break into acting over the years; usually with mixed results. While rock stars can often struggle with the transition though, those coming from a hip hop background tend to have a lot more luck in Hollywood than others. In fact, many now see it as something of a right of passage for up and coming rap stars.
A lot of this is down to how frequently rappers make the leap to the silver screen and how prominent some of them have gone on to be after doing so. Not all of them have what it takes and some opt not to stick around even if they do, but practically every rapper worth their salt has appeared in at least one movie at some point during their career.
10 Eminem
Given how popular Eminem was around the turn of the century, it came as little surprise when he announced that he’d be appearing in a movie. What was a little unexpected, however, was that he was actually pretty good in it. Of course, it certainly helps that the character he played was fairly similar to his Slim Shady persona, but it was still a solid debut nonetheless.
The story is a little shallow in places, but the soundtrack is fantastic throughout, with Mathers writing and performing many of the tracks himself. Several other notable rappers also feature in 8 Mile including Xzibit, Proof and Obie Trice. Sadly though, the movie remains Eminem’s sole appearance on the silver screen. We’ll always have Mom’s spaghetti though.
9 Ice Cube
Since his breakthrough role alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. in the coming of age drama Boyz N the Hood, Ice cube has gone on to feature in almost 50 movies. While there are plenty of memorable ones to choose from though, he’s perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of Craig in the Friday franchise.
Not only did Cube play the lead in all three movies, but he also wrote them and produced the two sequels. More recently, he’s appeared in several of the XXX movies as well as 21 Jump Street and Barbershop. He even tried his hand at directing in the 1998 comedy drama The Players Club and received positive feedback from critics for his efforts.
8 Snoop Dogg
Snoop’s first foray into acting came in Dave Chappelle’s stoner comedy Half Baked in which he plays the Scavenger Smoker. As the years have passed though, the rapper has gone on to pick up a few more prominent roles and has appeared in around 50 movies.
He may not be the most talented actor out there, but he’s not too bad in smaller doses. Some of his highlights include Training Day, The Tenants and the 2004 adaptation of Starsky & Hutch in which he plays Huggy Bear Brown. He’s also appeared in quite a few television shows as well and has recently begun streaming video games on Twitch.
7 P. Diddy
Sean Combs isn’t just a man of many names, but also a man of many hats. He’s an accomplished rapper, a respected record producer and a fairly decent actor as well. His first appearance came in the 2001 crime comedy Made and he followed this up with an eye-catching performance in Monster’s Ball. Since then, however, his fortunes have been a little mixed.
While the likes of I’m Still Here and A Raisin in the Sun are fairly solid flicks, two ill-conceived prequels in the forms of Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power and Get Him to the Greek really didn’t do much for Combs’ acting career. To his credit though, he still delivered some great performances in them despite the flawed source material.
6 Will Smith
It’s a little strange to think of Will Smith as a rapper given how successfully he has transitioned into acting, but his roots are very much in music. In fact, during the early days of his acting career, he often provided music for the movies in which he starred; most notably Men in Black and the much maligned Wild Wild West.
Smith got his first big break when he was given the opportunity to star in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and, from there, he never really looked back. Some of his more memorable films include Independence Day, Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness; the latter two of which saw him nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards.
5 Mark Wahlberg
Like Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg is thought of more as an actor than a rapper these days, but he started his career as Marky Mark. His success with the Funky Bunch may have been short-lived, but his on screen performances continue to go from strength to strength.
Remarkably, Wahlberg has never won a major award for his acting, although did receive an Oscar nomination for his role in The Departed. Although he’s never acted in a video game, he played the titular character in the 2008 Max Payne movie adaptation and will star as Sully in the Uncharted movie when it finally releases in 2022.
4 Donald Glover
Although Donald Glover was rapping long before he was cast as Troy Barnes in Community, it was not until after he left the show that he really started to make a name for himself in the music industry. As a result, some see his career path as being a little unique when compared to some of the other rappers who’ve appeared on the silver screen.
Glover has featured in quite a few big movies over the past decade and has been cast as some fairly iconic characters. He provided the voice for Simba in the live-action adaptation of The Lion King and played a young Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
3 50 Cent
Curtis Jackson is one of those performers that just transcends the rap game. He’s an entrepreneur, a philanthropist and even stars in a few of his own video games. One of the things that he perhaps doesn’t get enough credit for though is his solid acting ability.
He might not have won any awards just yet, but he’s turned in quite a few decent performances since making the transition into movies. The best of these came in All Things Fall Apart, with Fiddy shedding more than 50 pounds for the role. He’s also directed a few movies and played one of the leads in the crime drama series Power.
2 Queen Latifah
Given her strong track record on the silver screen, there is perhaps an argument to be made that Queen Latifah is a better actress than she is a rapper these days. Granted, she hasn’t picked up quite as many awards for her acting work, but she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the 2002 smash hit Chicago.
While this may well be her finest performance to date, she’s appeared in plenty of other big movies throughout her distinguished career. Highlights include Barbershop: The Next Cut, Girls Trip and the 2007 musical Hairspray in which she appears alongside John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer.
1 Tupac
As well as being one of the greatest rappers of all time, Tupac Shakur was also a very talented actor. Between 1991 and his tragic death in ’96, he appeared in seven movies, the first of which was Nothing but Trouble. In it, he lined up alongside big names like Dan Akroyd and Demi Moore and played a fictionalized version of himself.
Some of his other notable roles came in Juice, Gridlock’d and Poetic Justice; the latter of which saw him co-star with Janet Jackson. His final performance was arguably his finest though, with many critics praising the late rapper’s portrayal of Detective Rodriguez when Gang Related released in the year after his demise.
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