From Hip Hop to Hollywood

Style Magazine Newswire | 1/27/2017, 10:46 a.m.

Many of our favorite rappers have made the transition from music to the big screen, bringing their talents to Hollywood. Here’s a look at some of our faves.

Clifford “T.I.” Harris

Clifford “T.I.” Harris

T.I. has had major success in the hip-hop world with chart topping singles like ‘Bring Em Out’ , ‘Whatever You Like’, and ‘Dead and Gone’. He first explored the acting world with his role in ‘ATL’. He found the opportunity intriguing and felt he needed to be involved in since he felt it gave an honest depiction of Atlanta. T.I. then went on to star in American Gangster, Taken, Ant Man, Sleepless, and more recently the TV miniseries Roots.

A$AP ROCKY

A$AP Rocky’s mixtape ‘Live. Love. A$AP’ became a hit putting him on the radar of hip-hop fans. He’s built quite an impressive resume which includes business ventures such as A$AP Worldwide and his A$AP Clothing brand and recently added actor to the list. A$AP Rocky starred in the film Dope as Dom, a drug dealer. He came across the role while helping ex-girlfriend Chanel Iman run lines and really liked the character. He has also played himself in Zoolander 2 and Entourage. We can’t help but wonder what role he’ll take on next.

Common

COMMON

Common first dipped his toes into acting appearing on an episode of Girlfriends. He made his big screen debut as the villainous mob enforcer Sir Ivy in Smoking Aces. He landed his fist leading man role alongside Queen Latifah in Just Wright. Other films he starred in include American Gangster, Barbershop: The Next Cut, and Selma where he also lent his writing skills to co-write ‘Glory’, which would go on to win an Oscar.

Queen Latifah

QUEEN LATIFAH

She had a successful career as a female rapper paving the way for other female MCs . Queen Latifah landed a reoccurring role on sitcom Living Single and landed her first lead role in Set It Off. She would go on to star in film musical Chicago which would lead to her first Academy-Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her acting resume has been pretty impressive and just keeps getting longer. She’s currently starring in Fox’s new show Star and will reunite with Jada Pinkett-Smith in Girl Trip this summer.

Ludacris

CHRIS “LUDACRIS” BRIDGES

Ludacris achieved main stream success in the hip-hop world with singles such as ‘What’s Your Fantasy?, ’Southern Hospitality’ and ‘Runaway Love’. He always had an interest in acting and taking on the challenge of what it entailed. He received his break into the acting world after sending in an audition tape that would land him his first major role in 2 Fast 2 Furious. He went on to other roles in films such as Hustle & Flow, Game, Crash, and Max Payne. However, he is most recognized for his reoccurring character Tej Parker in the Fast & Furious franchise. You can catch him in Fate of the Furious in theatres April 2017.

Ice Cube

ICE CUBE

Ice Cube is considered as a founding father of gangsta rap who started out with group NWA before going solo in 1990. However, Cube didn't stop with music and would go on to make his silver screen debut in Boyz N the Hood. He would star in a couple of other movies before making the jump from writing lyrics to writing a screenplay for what would become known as Friday. The movie, which he also starred in, would become a hit at the box office and a classic! He’s gone on to star in Three Kings, the Barbershop franchise, the sequels to Friday, Ride Along 1 & 2 and many more. He’s made quite a name for himself in both the music and film industries and doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon. Don’t forget to catch him in FIST FIGHT, alongside Charlie Day, which releases February 17th.

Synopsis: On the last day of the year, mild-mannered high school English teacher Andy Campbell (Charlie Day) is trying his best to keep it together amidst senior pranks, a dysfunctional administration and budget cuts that put jobs on the line. But things go from bad to worse when he accidentally crosses his much tougher and deeply feared colleague, Ron Strickland (Ice Cube), who challenges Campbell to an old-fashioned throw down after school. News of the fight spreads like wildfire and ends up becoming the very thing this school, and Campbell, needed.

“Fist Fight” also stars Tracy Morgan (“30 Rock”), Jillian Bell (“22 Jump Street”), Dean Norris (“Breaking Bad”), Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”), Dennis Haysbert (“The Unit”), JoAnna Garcia Swisher (“The Astronaut Wives Club”).

Richie Keen directs from a screenplay by Van Robichaux & Evan Susser (Funny or Die’s “What’s Going On? With Mike Mitchell”), story by Van Robichaux & Evan Susser and Max Greenfield. “Fist Fight” is produced by Shawn Levy, Max Greenfield, John Rickard, and Dan Cohen. Serving as executive producers are Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Samuel J. Brown, Dave Neustadter, Charlie Day, Ice Cube, Marty P. Ewing, Billy Rosenberg, and Bruce Berman.

Keen’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Eric Edwards (“Knocked Up”), production designer Chris Cornwell (“Ride Along,” “The Wedding Ringer”), editor Matthew Freund (Comedy Central’s “The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail”) and costume designer Denise Wingate (“Wedding Crashers”). The music is by Dominic Lewis (Amazon’s “The Man in the High Castle”).

New Line Cinema presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a 21 Laps/Wrigley Pictures production: “Fist Fight.” The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.