Rappers turned actors
It’s Sunday – what is a better start to this day than some new hip hop…? This week, the topic isn’t as serious as it might be otherwise. Today, I’d like to pay my regards to all the rappers out there who have endeavoured into movie acting.
I came to think of the topic as I was looking at the new Westworld Season III trailer. And there was Kid Cudi in it.
He’s not new to acting. He’s got 34 credits as actor on IMDB. My first interaction with Kid Cudi as an actor was probably the other HBO series How To Make It In America.
Rappers acting
The next I came to think of was that just the other day, I did the classic sit in front of the TV and don’t know what to watch-thing and I watched a couple of trailers on Netflix and saw André Benjamin (André 3000), starring in a new Netflix movie called High Life also starring the pale guy from Twilight, Robert Pattinson.
So I got into it and googled ”rappers acting” and quickly realized that almost all popular rappers in the past two decades has ventured into rapping: Ice Cube (66 acting credits), Eminem (58), 50 Cent (57 credits), Common (65), Snoop Dogg (162!), and many more.
Jay Z
Then I realized some music videos actually counts towards the IMDB score, but all of the above have starred in major movies. But one thing that stood out was Jay Z. He has never ventured into acting. There’s good money in acting and as we know, Jay Z has declared himself as a business man from when he rapped:”I’m not a business man, I am business, man”
”I’m not a business man, I am business, man”
Diamons from Sierra Leone (Remix
I believe the primary reason for him not acting is he wants to brand himself as a business man rather than actor for entertainment. Did you know he owns multiple businesses: an UBER kind-of-service for jet planes, his music label Roc-A-Fella Records, he’s a sports agent with some of the biggest name in the business and now runs a venture capital firm called Arrive who has invested in businesses such as Robinhood, the now ridiculously successful investment app.
I wish him further success in the business world, as well as a new album, as his most recent album – 4:44 – still is in rotation at home.
SOMETHING REAL
ADÉ is an up-n-coming rapper who sounds a lot like Goldlink. On this latest track, he features Goldlink (!) and Wale. Not sure how he got the money to purchase features from some of the biggest names out there today: Goldlink, Rich The Kid, Wale, Fatman Scoop (what?) and Lil Baby – but it was a well worth investment. His latest album is a hit.
Rubberband
The supergroup Beast coast released their new album this Friday. The group consists of Flatbush Zombies, The Underachievers, Nyck Caution, Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, Erick The Architect and Kirk Knight. It’s an exciting group with top producers who pushes the boom rap / New York sound further; experimenting with what it could be. And I love it.
Groceries
Chance is back with a new track and what’s most interesting is the feature with Tisakorean – who is this person? Never heard of before but always glad when bigger rappers invite unknown artists on their tracks. And it’s a good one.
I THINK
Tyler, The Creator surprised everyone with a new album this past Friday. Ever since his album Flower Boy, I feel that he has found his own sound and with this album, almost perfected it. It’s a great album from start to end and this track is no exception. Sidenote but what’s the deal with rappers having pink covers and capital letters in the title? I’m not complaining, just curious.
Relentless Again
Moneybagg Yo has that raw Memphis sound to his voice and it’s used best on honest tracks like this one. He just released a new album and invites us to his crazy life. I considered not featuring this track because that album cover is too graphic for my weak heart but it’s as honest as it can be.