Making a name in the rap game is no easy task. As hip-hop grows to being one of the fastest-spreading genres among the world's youths, many have tested their luck with starting a rap career. For the handful of rappers who made it, dozens of others have failed to live up to the hype.
Fortunately, some rappers are exceptional entertainers. In addition to rapping, they are also surprisingly good at acting (not all rappers are good at acting). This side skill gives them an advantage that, should their rap career die down one day, they could still thrive in Hollywood by acting in movies. From Eminem to Kendrick Lamar, here are some of the rappers who actually are good actors.
10 Eminem
Eminem's long-spanning career as a rapper is no longer doubted. From 1999's Slim Shady LP to his recent Music to Be Murdered By albums, Eminem's dedication to the pen game speaks for itself.
Em made his big-screen debut as a lead character in the 2002 rap battle movie, 8 Mile. Unfortunately, he overworked himself too much during the movie's production, which lead up to his overdose in 2007. Since then, the rapper has always turned down acting gigs.
9 Jaden Smith
This is more of a case where a father's talent passes down to his children. Jaden Smith, the son of rapper/actor Will Smith, was signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation label. After making his breakthrough in the music industry with the Never Say Never collaboration with Justin Bieber, Jaden continued to balance between his acting and music career. His latest album, CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3, came out in 2020 while his latest movie, Life in a Year, hit screenings last year.
8 Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg is a one-of-a-kind versatile rap star. Starting in the gangsta rap scene, Snoop Dogg is also an actor, a lullaby singer, a chef, a partner-in-crime of Martha Stewart, and a youth football league runner. Snoop Dogg credited his late friend, Tupac Shakur, for motivating him to start an acting career.
"After he passed away I started getting a lot of movie roles and all this stuff. Pac was looking out for us even after he was gone," said the rapper during Tupac's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
7 50 Cent
Just like Eminem with 8 Mile, 50 Cent also loosely turned his life story into a movie, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. In the movie, a young aspiring rapper gets shot nine times and gets motivated to get out of his situation by plotting revenge and pursuing a career in the rap game.
Now, while his rap portfolio hasn't looked so great lately, 50 Cent has acted and produced some of the best crime shows in recent years, including Power and its spin-offs.
6 Ice Cube
It's no surprise finding Ice Cube on this list. The former NWA member has constantly been hailed as one of the most successful rapper-turned-actors. In 1995, the Compton rapper starred in comedic films Boyz n the Hood and Friday where he portrayed the titular main character. He has also ventured into video game acting, mostly noted for his performance in Call of Duty: Black Ops as Chief Petty Officer Joseph Bowman.
5 Nelly
Country Grammar rapper Nelly made his acting-career debut in 2001, but it wasn't until 2005 when his big break came. The rapper shared the stage with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock in The Longest Yard remake and contributed to the film's soundtrack album, Nelly has also landed several smaller roles since then and appeared in the mockumentary series Real Husbands of Hollywood. The series, in which he was in the main cast, ran for five seasons.
4 Machine Gun Kelly
Two years after releasing his debut album Lace Up, Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly made his acting debut in Beyond the Lights. Since then, he's landed several more impressive acting deals: Nerve (2016), Bird Box (2018), Captive State (2019), and Project Power (2020). He even met his current sweetheart, Megan Fox, on the set of Midnight in the Switchgrass.
3 Kendrick Lamar
Although Kendrick Lamar hasn't been active with his music over the last couple of years, the rapper has proved himself to be a talented actor. Thanks to his friendship with 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar made his acting debut in Power, as a Dominican drug addict named Lucas. The rapper admitted he didn't want to portray a character that has a musical resemblance to him.
2 A$AP Rocky
There might not be many who know this, but A$AP Rocky made his acting debut in 2015. In addition to rapping and producing, the Harlem rapper felt acting was something new to do, which he displayed with the coming-of-age comedy-drama Dope. With $6.1 million in weekend-opening gross, Dope was one of the most commercially successful movies in 2015.
1 RZA
Acting may not be RZA's forte, but the de facto frontman of legendary hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan has a pretty impressive laundry-list of acting cameos. Alongside Eminem, the two rap legends starred in the black comedy box office hit Funny People (2009).