TV show rappers involve both existing rappers who have relocated to appear in scripted and reality television shows on the small screen, as well as performers who have taken the transition from television to music.
Far in front of rappers that appear on RapTV like Diddy and T.I. And Flavor Flav appeared on reality TV shows on networks such as MTV and VH1, one teenage rapper murdered him on the Billboard charts and on the small screen. As he grew to prominence acting in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and rapping alongside DJ Jazzy Jeff as the Fresh Prince, Will Smith was the rapper and performer. Smith went on to enjoy a lengthy and extremely successful career in television.
Will Smith In The Bel-Air Fresh Prince (1990-1996):
Big Willie may have been born and raised in West Philadelphia, but as one of Hollywood’s most popular actors, he has long held up his credibility in Southern California. The performer formerly known as The Fresh Prince has his own program on NBC until he ever bulked up to play Muhammad Ali or placed on the black suit next to Tommy Lee Jones. Will played a boy from high school shipped out west to be refined by his Scrooge McDuck-rich Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil, portrayed by the incomparable James Avery (who definitely doesn’t look like a white guy called Ward). DJ Jazzy Jeff played a recurring part as “Jazz,” a drum teacher / DJ / God-knows-what-something pal of Will’s, who had the terrible habit of saying something clever and tossing himself sideways at the cribs.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has one of the most recited theme songs in the history of TV and is the focus of numerous comparisons to pop culture. Seeing on syndication show? Oh, it isn’t unique.
50 Cent- Power (2014-Present):
Curtis Jackson does not guide this display. Yet he is creating the Starz thriller, portraying one of the most magnetic roles. The bone-chilling Kanan, who, before making a long attempt, mentored Ghost (Omari Hardwick) and Tommy (Joseph Sikora), steals most of the scenes he is in. Viewers are never quite sure what he would do next — not unlike the General G-Unit itself. Before discovering his spot as Kanan, the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ rapper trudged his way through flat acting appearances in subpar movies and also mined a decent music project out of it with The Kanan Tape of 2015.
Irv Gotti: The Gotti way:
Two years after a money laundering conviction cleared him and his brother Chris, rap lord Irv Gotti was trying to pull Murder Inc. back from financial distress. To get the label and Ja Rule’s career off the ground, his 2007 VH1 reality film, Gotti’s Path, chronicled his trials and tribulations. His engagement to the then-wife Debbie Lorenzo (aka “Deb”) crumbled on top of that. The program had loads of emotional plot lines. Irv and Deb had split in season two but Irv still stayed at home, much to Deb ‘s chagrin.
In Living Single (1993-1998): Queen Latifah
In Chicago, film snobs may recognize Latifah for her breathtaking change, while in Last Holiday and Pulling Down the Building, comedy heads may prefer her goofball antics. And still, Queen Latifah genuinely expressed her “Ladies First” thoughts on Fox’s Living Single, portraying one of four single women living in Brooklyn next to two single males. Khadijah James, the editor and publisher of the fictitious urban magazine Flavor, was portrayed by Queen. But the show was just about six people negotiating the dating world’s unpredictable, maddening, frightening terrain and featuring plenty of famous Hip Hop cameos like Treach, Heavy D, TLC and Gladys Knight.
