BY MIKEY MIGO
When Hip Hop was becoming more accepted by a suburban audience, there were a few movie's to come out. Most of them were lame, over the top, or just really bad(in a good way) comedies. I can still remember watching The Fat Boys in "Disorderlies", Vanilla Ice in "Cool As Ice", and of course the "House Party" series as a kid and pre-teen. Outside of the "Disorderlies", it seemed a lot of these movies flopped pretty hard. Then again the times were different. It was all Cross Colors and fun rap.
As gangsta rap came to surface in the early 90's, so did more serious movies. As the music was more about life on the streets, so were the movies. Of course this lead to the classic film "Boyz n the Hood"(Ice Cube); but also the likes of "Juice"(Tupac) and "New Jack City"(Ice-T). These movies ended up being seriously good, if not great. All three of the before mentioned rappers would go on to a successful acting career. One can only wonder how far the very talented Tupac would of went if he hadn't of passed.
Meanwhile, there were some of the old school rappers starting to break out more into the movie scene. I'm talking about LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, and "The Fresh Prince" himself, Will Smith. LL has had some success, but has yet to have that huge blockbuster. Queen Latifah has had plenty of success and doesn't seem to be slowing down. Still, the success of Will Smith is unrivaled by any other rapper turned actor. "Marky" Mark Wahlberg comes close, but no where near the level of "Mr. Nice Guy".
There are others who have taken their entrance into film with a little more ease. Opting for supporting roles as opposed to starring ones have been guys like Method Man, Snoop, Xzibit, Andre "3000" Benjamin, Busta, and others. Most notable of these "guest stars" is Common and Mos Def. Both have stepped right in and have made an awesome impact thus far. I think either one could step up.
Top 10 Hip Hop Artists Turned Actors
From "Friday" to "Law and Order"This is completely subjective, so I'm going to run with it. In my opinion, here is the top ten rappers turned actors. Some are obvious and some are just my own guilty pleasures or tastes. I'm sure I'm going to forget about a few, but some are forgotten on purpose. Let's check them out…
Not Worth Mentioning: Eminem, The Game, 50 Cent, DMX, Ja Rule, Tyrese
Honorable Mentions: Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Andre "3000" Benjamin, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Diddy, Xzibit, Common
10. LL Cool J
Notable Work: "Any Given Sunday", "SWAT", "Rollerball".
I remember first seeing LL in the Robin William's flop "Toys". From there nothing was of much relevance except for his multiseason sitcom "In The House". I really appreciated his work in "Any Given Sunday", but "SWAT" and "Rollerball" left a lot of be desired. He's LL Cool J though, he has the natural charisma and personality to back it up. I think if given the right chance he could really impress. Until then, I'm cool with his smaller roles.
9. Method Man
Notable Work: "How High", "Soul Plane", "Garden State".
His most known role was as a stoner with friend and fellow rapper Redman in "How High". It's become somewhat of a cult classic for many stoners and his comedic performance is one of the main reasons why. His guest appearances and smaller roles are what makes it for him. His stuff in "Soul Plane" and the indie hit "Garden State" was perfect and dead on. It was a small dose of what the M-E-T-H-O-D man can offer.
8. Mos Def
Notable Work: "Bamboozled", "Brown Sugar", "Be Kind Rewind".
Since I've become a fan of his music I've been spotting him in more and more places. I caught Mos on an old episode of "Spin City" and he was apparently involved with the Bill Cosby mystery show as well. Movie wise, I was big on his skills in "Bamboozled" as the over the top militant rapper and the less than over the top taxi driving rapper in "Brown Sugar". He took a chance on "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and that flopped, but nothing against his efforts. He's slowly and surely honing his craft and getting bigger and better roles. He was most recently seen co-starring with Jack Black in "Be Kind Rewind". Good things are to come for Mos Def.
7. Ice T
Notable Work: "New Jack City", "Surviving The Game", "Law and Order"(TV).
I'm a huge fan of "New Jack City". I think it's a really underrated and underappreciated movie. I knew who he was before then, but I really got my first view of what makes this guy so special. He's got a demanding and powerful presence on camera that draws you to him. I try to avoid the show, but it's really hard to not see a few hours of "Law and Order" each week in my house. Ice T can only be on the show for so long before he moves on to something else. I'll be really interesting to see what career route he goes once his stay on the hit drama ends.
6. Ludacris
Notable Work: "2 Fast 2 Furious", "Crash", "Hustle & Flow".
Remember the cornrows, rough attitude, and "Move Bitch! Get Out the Way"? That's all part of the past as Chris "Ludacris" Bridges has evolved into a movie star. He did the ever so annoying "2 Fast 2 Furious" stuff, but then really came out of his shell with "Crash" and "Hustle & Flow" in the same year. He got a lot of attention and praise for his work in both movies and rightfully so. I've seen him show his range to be very wide in the adult toon called "Lil Pimp" and all the way to recent episodes of TV's "Law and Order". He's sorta like The Rock. He got famous doing his thing and then as he gets more and more famous and away from his roots he starts to change his name. Even if he just goes with "Chris Bridges" in the future, he's always going to be Luda to me.
5. Ice Cube
Notable Work: "Boyz n the Hood", "Friday", "Three Kings".
If you think about all the movies that Ice Cube has been in you'd be here a long time. To kick it off, we have to talk about one of the best movies of the 90's with "Boyz n the Hood". In that movie he showed he was more than a gangsta rapper and had more to offer to the fans. It just kept building from there. You have a handful of "Friday" movies, granted the first has still been untouchable. There are the "Barbershop" movies that were "eh" at best. "Three Kings" was him stepping out a little and showing he can hang with the bigger name actors. Recently, I saw him in "First Sunday" and it was pretty bad. Still, by looking at his credentials he's career thus far has been very impressive.
4. Queen Latifah
Notable Work: "Set It Off", "Chicago", "Bringing Down The House".
I remember Queen's appearance of "Fresh Prince" and actually did watch the majority of the "Living Single" series. If you don't think "Sex In The City" "borrowed" from "Living Single" then you're in denial. Queen Latifah got out there with movies like "Set It Off" and appearing in "The Barbershop" and "Beauty shop" movies. There's obviously a lot more to the woman as she's also gained many critic's respect with her work in "Chicago". In more recent years she's done "Bringing Down The House", "Mad Money", and "The Last Holiday". She's proved she can get series, sing(obviously), and be very funny. Since she stepped on her first set she's been building her status as one of Hollywoods top leading females.
3. "Marky" Mark Wahlberg
Notable Work: "Boogie Nights", "The Departed", "Planet of the Apes"
Despite the horrible noise he tried to push to us as "music", he has made a huge leap into acting. Some would say that his rap persona was his first real acting role, but it would take "Boogie Nights" to gain Wahlberg his proper respect. From there he's been involved with tons of really good films like "The Departed", "Rockstar", or "Four Brothers". He is easily one of the upper tier actors out there today. My personal issue is that I don't think he has enough or at least shows he has enough range. It's always the same type of personality just with a different profession. It's like "Mark Wahlberg is playing a football player!" or "Mark Wahlberg is playing a shifty cop!" It's not my cup of tea, but it obviously works.
2. Tupac Shakur
Notable Work: "Juice", "Poetic Justice", "Above the Rim".
I know he never had the box office success of the people higher than him on this list, but in my opinion he was underrated and underappreciated as an actor. His intensity, charisma, and his skills were really unique. I think it's safe to say that if he'd of lived he'd of continued to act. He was one or two roles away from getting a chance to show his true skills. In "Juice" and "Poetic Justice" he showed a lot of emotional range and potential. His missed work in film will just as wondered about as his potential behind the mic.
1. Will Smith
Notable Work: "Fresh Prince of BelAir"(TV), "Independence Day", "I Am Legend".
There is no hyperbole or fancy intro needed here. The most successful rapper turned actor is Will Smith. From one of the best and most renowned sitcoms of all time with "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" to the upcoming summer blockbuster "Hancock" and everywhere in between, Will Smith has become one of the most successful, known, and loved actors of an entire generation. You might not like his every career move, but no one can deny the success this guy has had on the big screen. It's probably safe to say that this rappers career has easily been overshadowed by his acting. That says a lot.
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