Hiphop’s always flaunted an unabashed vision of upward mobility—a pursuit of fame and fortune that it happily wears on its sleeve. It’s no surprise then, that hiphop artists have tried to diversify their interests through film—what is somewhat surprising is the inexplicably high success rate of said crossovers. For every nosedive that Nelly (The Longest Yard) and Snoop Dogg (Soul Plane) produce, there are an equal number of understated performances from respectable MCs like Mos Def and Andre 3000, as well as from people who probably would have been better skipping hiphop altogether (like Mark Wahlberg and Will Smith).
• Krush Groove (1985)—A fictionalized account of the Def Jam story, Krush Groove features the screen debuts of Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Kurtis Blow, the Fat Boys, Rick Rubin, and New Edition. The acting is terrible, but it’s totally worth renting—if only for the Fat Boys’ lengthy salute to Sbarros, “All You Can Eat.” R.I.P. Darren “The Human Beat Box” Robinson, 1967-1995.
• Boyz n the Hood (1991)—Produced at the end of hiphop’s “Golden Age,” Boyz n the Hood ushered in the golden age of hiphop cinema—a canon that includes Ice-T’s New Jack City, Tupac’s Juice, and of course, Vanilla Ice’s Cool as Ice. More importantly, Boyz introduced us to Ice Cube as a serious actor—a dude so brilliantly effortless that he nearly made Are We There Yet? watchable.
• Three Kings (1999)—Perhaps the best film to exploit the watchability of hiphop stars without specifically alluding to hiphop, Three Kings teams rap/actor heavyweights Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube for a brilliant comedy/drama/action film about the aftermath of the first Iraqi war.
• 8 Mile (2002)—Though I predict its ripples have yet to be fully felt, Eminem’s magnum opus introduced the self-glorifying semi-biopic. Considering that street cred currently seems to be more important than actual MC skill, the promotional potential of celluloid documentation (50 Cent shot nine times in Technicolor, for example) from “the streets” is staggering.