Good Rappers Who’ve Made Terrible Actors

May 15th, 2010 | By

The trend of rappers shifting into acting is nothing new, and in theory it makes sense. Both roles focus on emotive storytelling, right? Unfortunately, that transition isn’t always a smooth one–a point hammered home repeatedly by the new film Just Wright, starring Queen Latifah and Common. It’s 100 minutes of pure drivel.

Latifah has made the leap to legitimate movie star, but Common is still relatively new to the game. This is due in large part to the fact that he’s a terrible actor (Smokin’ Aces? Really?).

In Just Wright, Common plays a basketball star on the New Jersey Nets in some alternate world where they actually make the NBA Finals. He’s injured during the All-Star Game, and is nursed back to health by physical therapist Latifah.

The crap factor here isn’t all Common’s fault. This laughably clichéd film fails on multiple levels, eliciting laughs in the most awkwardly “touching” moments. But his go-to facial expression, sort of a wide-eyed fart-sniffing smile, should be reserved only for moments where he has indeed just sniffed a fart.

He won’t be the last rapper to stumble into an acting role, though. So let’s look back at past examples of good rappers who are terrible actors.

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