Everyone loves a good multitalented entertainer. Sometimes it’s a rapper who can also sing, or a vocalist who can also play an instrument and/or produce music. While these examples are commendable on their own, being able to thrive in one world and have an equal or greater success in another world is a feat that deserves a big round of applause.
Many rappers have been able to achieve this over hip-hop’s lifetime, and the cool thing about it is that each one did it in their own way. Some put complete focus on music and then shifted to complete focus on film or TV. Others juggled both throughout their entertainment career. Some used multiple films and series to achieve their access, while others hit the jackpot with a long tenure in one TV series or a handful of movies. There isn’t a singular straightforward recipe to this level of success, but the mere achievement of it is worth the honor and celebration.
With that being said, here are 11 rappers who went Hollywood on the music world and thrived.
Childish Gambino
Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, might be the only person on this list whose entertainment career actually started in Hollywood. In 2006, Glover was hired to be a writer on NBC’s 30 Rock and contributed to the sitcom for three years until 2009. It wasn’t until the turn of the decade that he fully committed to his music career, releasing both his debut project EP and debut album Camp in 2011. In the years that followed, Glover kept a decent balance between his music (winning a Grammy for 2016’s “Awaken, My Love!”) and film/TV career (winning multiple awards for Atlanta). However, between 2020 and 2024, his focus seemed to shift more toward the big and small screens thanks to releases that included Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the final two seasons of Atlanta (seasons 3 & 4), and the Amazon Prime limited series Swarm. Glover released his fifth album, Bando Stone & the New World, in spring 2024, so maybe things will be more balanced going forward.
Ice Cube
In the early 1990s, Ice Cube was on top of the entertainment world. He was fully a solo artist, and his first two albums — AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (1990) and Death Certificate (1991) — were released to critical acclaim. He also made his acting debut in the undeniably classic movie Boyz n the Hood. Though Ice Cube continued to release albums well into the turn of the century, it was his film career that proved to be the most successful around this time. Friday, Next Friday, Barbershop, Are We There Yet?, Lottery Ticket – the list goes on and on. Ice Cube’s film career is so successful that some forget (or don’t even know) how big he was as a rapper.
Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah’s list of accomplishments is as long as a receipt from CVS, but it’s absolutely proof of her impenetrable legacy. From the late ‘80s into the early 2000s, Queen Latifah was known as a rap icon who delivered classics like All Hail the Queen and Black Reign, the latter of which was home to the Grammy-winning “U.N.I.T.Y.” Music wasn’t the end-all be-all for Latifah though. In the 2000s, especially after her award-nominated role as Mama in Chicago, Latifah took a big dive into the acting world. What came out of it was an incredible run of classics Scary Movie 3, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Beauty Shop, Girls Trip, and Hairspray. It all earned her a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, making her the first hip-hop artist to receive a star.
Ludacris
Ludacris was a force to be reckoned with in the rap world in the 2000s. Back For The First Time, Word Of Mouf, and Chicken-n-Beer are all certified classics, and his sixth album, Release Therapy, won Luda a pair of Grammy Awards. However, after a small role in the 2005 film Hustle & Flow, Luda’ Tej Parker became a member of the ensemble cast of the Fast & Furious franchise (following a supporting role in 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious) beginning with 2011’s Fast Five, and Chris Bridges hasn’t looked back since. He has also appeared in additional movies like No Strings Attached and New Year’s Eve. Nowadays, you’ll probably catch Ludacris on the big screen more than you would on a new LP, but who knows? Things could change (and, judging by the freestyle he randomly drops on his Instagram page, it’s time for a new album, Mr. Bridges).
Common
If you haven’t noticed yet, the common (haha) theme with the artists on this list is that the peak of their music and acting careers are more or less split by the decade. This applies to Common. After dropping classics that included Like Water For Chocolate (2000) and Be (2005), Common took a more serious approach to acting. He appeared in films like American Gangster, Just Wright, Now You See Me, Selma, and more as well as TV shows like Silo. Despite his consistent appearance on the big and small screens over the past 15 years, Common still releases music at a regular rate, recently teaming with producer Pete Rock for their 2024 album The Auditorium Vol. 1. Nonetheless, the Chicago native has made a name for himself in two leagues like Pee Wee Kirkland… or whatever Pusha T said.
Will Smith
Will Smith is probably the best example of a musician who went Hollywood, mostly because he’s had an incredibly successful run as an actor. Smith’s music career got underway in the mid-‘80s and by 2000 he’d won four Grammy awards for classics like “Summertime” and “Gettin’ Jiggy With It.” At the same time, Smith’s acting career was taking off. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air launched in 1990, running for six seasons before ending in 1996 and establishing itself as one of the best Black sitcoms in TV history. From the 1990s onward, Smith became an absolute superstar in film, logging roles in classics like the Men In Black series, the Bad Boys series, The Pursuit of Happyness, Independence Day, Ali, and many more, winning the Academy Award in 2022 for his performance in King Richard. Smith’s acting career is so fruitful that the actor went roughly 20 years without an album, a streak that came to an end with 2025’s Based On A True Story.
Ice-T
Ice-T holds the record for the longest-running male series actor in American TV history with his role on Law & Order: SVU. That said, it wouldn’t be any surprise if someone of a certain age assumed that he was only an actor. However, Ice-T’s career began back in the 1980s (yeah, I know), with his debut album Rhyme Pays released in 1987. The following year, he dropped Power, which is his only album to be platinum-certified by the RIAA. He continued to release projects into the 1990s, most notably his 1992 track “Cop Killer” with his heavy metal band Body Count. Perhaps ironically, his major film debut came as police detective Scotty Appleton in 1991’s New Jack City, with roles in movies like 1994’s Surviving The Game and (the hood classic, debate with a wall about it) 2000’s Leprechaun in the Hood, before portraying Odafin “Fin” Tutuola later that year. Though Ice-T continued to release albums in the years that followed, he’s become more known for his Law & Order role.
Dave East
Dave East’s rap career started on the underground level in 2010 and remained there for years until 2014 when he released Black Rose, which led to Nas signing him to his Mass Appeal imprint. East would release a pair of albums and numerous mixtapes, before joining the cast of Wu-Tang: An American Saga, where he portrayed Method Man across its three seasons. What’s next for East’s film/TV career remains to be seen, but his time on Wu-Tang: An American Saga showed promise for what lies ahead.
Joey Bada$$
Joey’s emergence into the entertainment world first came as a rapper, and a pretty damn good one too. The Brooklyn native thrived as a member of the Pro Era crew and as a solo artist as well; his 1999 mixtape and albums B4.Da.$ & and All-Amerikkkan Bada$ albums are prime examples of his undeniable rap talents. However, prior to the latter album’s release, Joey took a step into the acting world with a role on Mr. Robot. What followed was a lead role in the Oscar-winning film Two Distant Strangers and a main role in STARZ’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan. The latter two roles came during a lengthy period away from music for Joey, one where it seemed like his focus was more on acting than it was music. However, he returned with his 2000 album in 2021 and plans to release his fourth LP, Lonely At The Top, in the near future.
Kid Cudi
Since the early mainstream days of his career, Kid Cudi always had a foot in the acting world. He guest-starred in well-known series like One Tree Hill, The Cleveland Show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and was a supporting cast member on HBO’s gone-too-soon series How To Make It In America. These guest appearances would eventually grow into main and lead roles such as Don’t Look Up, X, and Entergalactic, the latter of which won him an Emmy in 2024. Cudi never went more than two years without releasing an album, but in the latter half of his career, his career on the big and small screens seemed to take bigger strides than his music career. This will continue with his upcoming film Teddy, which will serve as his feature directorial debut.
LL Cool J
There are a handful of rappers who made it possible to have widespread commercial success as an artist in the genre. LL Cool J is one of those artists. From his debut album Radio to 1990’s Mama Said Knock You Out and Mr. Smith and onward, LL Cool J remained as one of rap’s top commercial artists. However, by the time the 2010s approached, LL Cool J’s was fully transitioning to the acting world when he took on a role as Special Agent Sam Hanna in NCIS: Los Angeles, a role he held for 14 years. Prior to that, LL Cool J had a multitude of one-off acting gigs on numerous shows and films, but NCIS: Los Angeles made him a household name. The show took up most of his time as he went eleven years without an album, a run that ended in 2024 with The Force.
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