Rappers Who Made The Jump To Hollywood Successfully
Hop has always been the field that everyone from athletes to actors want try their hand at.
Although most of the crossovers into Hip-Hop prove to be unsuccessful, it's not always the same the other way around.
With many MCs and rappers wanting to expand their portfolio, many have stepped into the realm of acting, although few have truly had a successful career.
Hip-Hopwired.com is taking some time to countdown the best Hip-Hop to acting transition by an MC.
Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg: After bursting on to the Hip-Hop/Pop scene with his debut single “Feel the Vibration”, Mark Wahlberg was most notably known for being a shirtless hunk of beef than an emcee.
After his breakout role in the classic film Boogie Nights as the now infamous character “Dirk Digler,” Wahlberg dropped the Funky Bunch and became one of the biggest actors in Hollywood.
Ice T: After his debut role on the ‘hood classic New Jack City, Ice T went from Original Gangsta to Hollywood star.
He must like the police because he's also co-starred as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" as Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola for the past 12 years.
Must be a nice check and the syndication money has gotta be crazy too
Xzibit: This west coast vet is known for dropping serious bars, but after his role in the film XXX: State of the Union, he showed that he had serious acting skills as well.
He also pimped a ride or two helping to boost his radar above the Hip-Hop scope.
DMX: This Ruff Rydin MC had the crowds mesmerized with his dark rhymes and gutter voice and had every chick wanting hood dude to talk rough to them while showing the hood who was in control.
But it wasn't until his role in Belly, that you saw how real DMX could get. And The scene with X and Ben Chavis at the end... CLASSIC!!!.
Kid-N-Play: This pioneering Hip-Hop duo was best known for the fun jams and party records, but after the release of their classic debut film House Party, which also served as a platform for the then unknown comedian Martin Lawrence among others, Kid-N-Play instantly became a household name.
They also had everyone about to break their necks with the infamous Kid-N-Play dance and were the breakthrough stars that showed MCs could deliver on the stage as well as provide box office hits.
HAIL TO THE ORIGINATORS!!!
Ludacris: Although this ATLien gained his initial notoriety as an on air personality for one of Atlanta's biggest radio stations, it wasn't long before he made the transition from spinning records, to making them.
But after conquering the Hip-Hop charts, Luda aka Christopher Bridges catapulted on to the Hollywood scene with his break out role in the film Crash and Ludacris became a double threat.
Just keep your A*S away from Terrance Howard because you don't fair too well opposite him.
Common: This Chi-town MC had mastered painting pictures with his words, so it seemed only natural that he would soon branch off into film to truly explore his creative side.
Although a relatively newcomer to the acting world in feature films, Common's break out role was as a slick poet on the CW sitcom “Girlfriends,” where he had the women in TV land falling in love with Hip-Hop. Although his looks and smile captures the ladies, he proved to have the acting chops to even make his American Gangster co-star Denzel Washington take notice.
Tupac: This renaissance emcee burst on to the scene dropping heartfelt gangsta lyrics that reached everyone from the hoods to the suburbs and became one of the most respected rappers of all time.
With his debut role in the cult classic Juice, he had everyone scared to mess with Bishop and had Janet Jackson mesmerized.
We all know the history as time wasn't on his side but John Singleton wanted him and Pac to be equivalent to the director/ actor team of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro.
Mos Def: This Brooklyn rapper is most known for being one half of the group Blackstarr with Talib Kweli, but most don't know that the Mighty Mos Def actually had a taste of the small screen prior to his big break in Hip-Hop.
A child star that played the sidekick of legendary comedian and producer Bill Cosby, Mos learned from the best. It wasn't until his role as an adult in the MTV produced Hip-Hopera Carmen that established Mos as a jack of all trades.
LL Cool J: This Hip-Hop pioneer actually had the luxury of not only being a break out emcee and helping launch the most legendary label in the game, he also had the ability to show off his acting chops all at the same time in the Hip-Hop cult classic Krush Groove.
But it wasn't until his break out role on his own show In the House, that people were able to see the many sides of James Todd Smith.
Ice Cube: This West Coast veteran not only pioneered the movement of Gangsta Rap, he also helped usher in the movement of ‘Hood' films that told a story. After telling us to “F**k the Police” because of their treatment of Black men in the ‘hood, he showed us with his debut role as “Doughboy” that the media doesn't care about us either
Taking it to a whole new level as a producer and director now as well, who would've thought "The Ni##A You Love To Hate" would become one of the kings of Black family movies and comedies.
Queen Latifah: Dana Owens showed that she not only could take on her male counterparts without showing off a lot of skin in Hip-Hop, she also dominated them in Hollywood as well. Queen Latifah was the first MC to not only gain her own show on a national network ("Living Single"), but also was the first female emcee to receive an Oscar nomination for her role in the epic film Chicago.
Although she has gained great notoriety, it was her supporting role in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever that started it all and her role in the girl gangster classic Set It Off, that sealed it. ALL HAIL THE QUEEN!!!
Will Smith: Most noted as a pioneer in Hip-Hop, Will Smith burst on the scene, showing that you didn't need to curse to show true lyricism. After being the first rapper to win a Grammy, Will Smith set out to tackle Hollywood and once he did, he showed the rap game what being a true “Big Willie” was all about.
Although he is one of Hollywood's biggest starts, it was his role as a gay con man in Six Degrees of Separation that showed his skills to step outside the box.
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