What Happens to Rappers That Turn to Acting

What happens to rappers that turn to acting? I think they end their own careers…if not immediately, I would say eventually. You can’t mix two arts without one suffering. I am sure you are shouting out now- What about Tupac? What about Will Smith? You have to know that those two started mixing from the very beginning; and truthful speaking, while they progressed in one field, the other suffered.

Tupac went to art school where he studied acting in the late 80s, so he is not just a rapper trying to use his popularity to gain some extra cash in acting. He released his first album, 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, and the follow up, Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z in 1993. They didn’t do so well, and this was the time when he was gaining popularity in the movie world- Juice (92), Poetic Justice (93). You see, you can’t do one thing without affecting the other. When he blew up in the rap world with Me Against the World (95), and All Eyez on Me (96), the movies (Above The Rim, Bullet) he made during that time weren’t as big as Juice and Poetic Justice.

If we are to analyze Will Smith, I would like you to know that no one really remembers the albums He made in the late 80s. It was after he signed with NBC to play in the The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1991 that his life really turned around, and that is when he really rose to fame. His 1991 hit, summertime, can almost be attributed to his new found fame at the time. And his later success on the big willie style album, which is also his highest selling album, although a great album, rode on the wave of the Men In Black movie. You can see what happened to his rap career after his acting blew up in the late 90s, and early 00s. Nobody even remembers Will Smith the rapper any more. I heard he is trying to make a comeback in 2012. Well, what can I say? I think he is one of the biggest actors in Hollywood right now, but if he still wants to venture back into rap, if he is still passionate about rapping, who am I to say he can’t…but there definitely would be repercussions for his actions.

If I am to fast-forward to present times, I can pick a handful of rappers that are heading, or have hit a rock since they tried their hands on acting. See what happened to DMX? He got caught up in playing tough guy in Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 The Grave that he got stuck in character, and messed up his whole career. Another rapper is Ludacris. He used to be on a lot of people’s top 10 rapper list in the mid 00s, but now, with all the acting, people hardly mention him when they are talking of dope rappers. As I said, one side always suffers.

The same thing happened to Queen Latifah in the 90s…in fact, she got lost in Hollywood. Mos Def was building a rap career till he got caught-up in the acting world. 50 Cent was once upon a time a force to reckon with hip hop, and then he thought he could also act, and look at what has happened to him. Of course I still respect his business acumen, but he need not play in all those his straight to DVD movies. Ice Cube is making it big in the movie industry now, but just as the paper is rolling in, he is losing credibility as a rapper. LL Cool J keeps complaining that he doesn’t get the respect that deserves in Hip Hop, but has he truly been true to hip hop?

Honestly, I think the only rapper that has been able to balance the two fields to an extent is Common. He is a fantastic actor, and a dope rapper. But even at that, his rap career has been suffering lately. Now, let us list the rappers that always appear in people’s best rapper list and see what they did and didn’t do; Jay-Z, Eminem, Nas, Rakim, Jadakiss, Big Daddy Kane, KRS 1…Howmany times have you seen them in movies? Eminem played his on biopic, not like he played an actor portraying another person’s character. Nas was in Belly because he co-wrote it with Hype Williams…plus he was at his peak at the time (at least his commercial peak). Jay-Z appeared in just one scene off that State Property movie, and he didn’t even say much…You see what I am talking about? You see what happens to rappers that turn to acting? And you see what happens to rappers that stick to their craft.