Acting Rappers

(click pic to hear podcast)

Phill Boogie:

I prefer to see trained individuals get rewarded for years of honing their acting skills. That said, there have always been performers who can sing, dance and act. Rappers are no different. Of course, there are some performances by rappers that completely stink up a movie. My only problem with that is, I know there was a talented actor who could have done the role. For a while I was anti-singer/rapper acting. I realized that I was probably more concerned for my friends who were losing roles, than I was about the rappers in films. In truth, I support people trying to live out all of their dreams, rapper, or otherwise. If a producer is offering, then I don't blame them for walking through the door.

Randy Bandit:

In all honestly, it probably started with Will Smith's performance in "Six Degrees of Separation." I think that's when it dawned on me how good a rapper could be if he really applied himself to the craft. Since then, I've been blown away by Queen Latifah (especially in "Living Out Loud"), L.L. Cool J (great performance on "House"), Mos Def (most of anything that he does), Ludicris (he just comes across as genuine), Ice Cube (of course), and now Common. I even like seeing 50 Cent in the right roles. And let's not forget Tupac.

Even though there are some rappers out there doing really good jobs, I do realize that some of them are just THERE taking up good film and displacing more qualified actors. I know there have been a few stinkers out there--and of course there was "Soul Plane"--but most of the major distributed films have decent performances from rappers, if they are casted. When one thinks about what music royalty checks really look like after advances have been recouped, it's no wonder many of them opt for larger and more stable checks.