Kenneth Boulding once said, ~The future is bound to surprise us, but we don't have to be dumbfounded.~ Let me ask you this question, if I had told you that Marshall Mathers, otherwise known as Eminem, would one day win an oscar what would your response have been? First you would probably have laughed, then thought I was out of my mind, and then would say the chance of Eminem winning an oscar is the day that Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes Governor of California. SURPRISE! Eminem indeed did win an oscar for best song entitled Lose Yourself from his hit movie 8 mile and The Terminator himself Arnold Schwarzenegger is Governor of California. I'm telling you, its a matter of time when a rapper wins for best actor..mark my words.
50 Cent, Bow Wow, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, T.I, Andre 3000, Big Boi, Ludacris are just a handful of rap artists who have transitioned themselves from rappers to actors of either the small and/or big screen. Whether it's action films, screwball comedies, horror flicks, dramas, whatever the case may be, it's considered for them not only a stepping stone to something possibly even greater but it's also a learning experience to fine tune their acting skills...if any. Essentially, the films many rap artists star in today have done quite well such as 50 cent's starring role in Get Rich or Die Tryin, Ludacris' supporting role in Crash, Mos Def's supporting role opposite Bruce Willis in 16 Blocks, and Andre 3000 in movies such as Be Cool and Four Brothers.
However, its those particular rap artists who should give credit where credit is due as their predecessors paved the way for them such as The Fat Boys, Kid'N Play, Tupac Shakur, L.L. Cool J, Ice T, and Ice Cube. When it comes to Actor/Rapper Ice T, he has done very well for himself as a legitimate actor with many film credits under his belt. Yet, it's his role as Det. Odafin "Fin" Tutuola in the widely popular television show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit that has playing opposite some of the great actors such as John Cullum, Mary Stuart Masterson, Samuel L. Jackson, Cathy Moriarty, and Martin Short. Like Ice Cube, they are considered to be in my opinion the standard at which all rappers should look up to and learn from.
Speaking of Ice Cube, he too has also done quite well not only in the rap game but also in the film industry as well. Like Ice T, he has established himself as a legitimate actor working with big names of the big screen such as Willem Dafoe and Samuel L. Jackson in Triple XXX: State of The Union; George Clooney in Three Kings; Jon Voight In Anaconda; and Dan Akroyd in Christmas with the Kranks. BUT, it's his work as Doughboy in the movie Boyz In The Hood in which his character has been in and out of institutions since childhood and now sits on his porch with a forty in his hand and a pistol in his waistband. In my opinion, that role defined him as an actor and it's not too shabby either if you play opposite a future academy award winner by the name of Cuba Gooding Jr.
This past Academy Awards, 3-6 Mafia won the oscar for best song entitled It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp in the movie Hustle And Flow starring Terrence Howard. It was also on that particular night Crash won for best movie and even though Ludacris didn't win anything, he was part of an ensemble cast in a movie that won best picture betting odds on favorite Brokeback Mountain. Without a doubt, rap artists are making noise in Hollywood to where it's being heard loud and clear. I started this thought by saying a rap artist will win best actor or even best supporting actor and I'm sticking to my word. For it initially began with Eminem then passed on to 3-6 Mafia and who knows maybe next year or the year after that, but one day the envelope will be opened and these 3 words will be said....and the winner is: (insert rap artist name here).
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