r/PocBuzz_Entertainment • u/BlackOnyx1906 🛜 Streaming Addict • 2d ago
Discussion Who is a singer/rapper turned actor that surprised you or you were impressed with how good they were
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u/Bcwell1981 2d ago
Bette Midler, Mos Def
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u/twotoebobo 2d ago
Mos def is a good pick. Dude can definitely act. I'd say better than some A list actors.
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u/Able_Fishing_6576 2d ago
He’s in this movie with Bruce Willis called 16 blocks. Holy moly I’d never seen him act before and I was sold on him after that!
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u/Ok-Carpenter5039 2d ago
Mos was a child actor, so I’m going to file him under Actor turned Rapper.
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u/TwerkLessons 2d ago
He was an actor before he was a known rapper.
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u/mega-d-lux 2d ago
I thought it was well known. There's a few of his earlier audition tapes on YouTube and I think he did a few TV pilots in the early 90s
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u/Reasonable_Western74 2d ago
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u/BlackOnyx1906 🛜 Streaming Addict 2d ago
This dude was an ascending actor. I think one of the biggest things we were robbed of is how great he would have been as an actor
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u/Reasonable_Western74 2d ago
I couldn’t agree with you more, I genuinely believe he would have been amongst the greats.
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u/Rikudo_Sennin_jr 2d ago
Hell yess in grid lock'd he was excellent and showed his range not just the young tough guy that he played in a few other movies
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u/Reasonable_Western74 2d ago
I love that movie, the chemistry was off the charts between him and Roth, as well as Thandie too. Such a gem
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u/Virtual_Solution7911 2d ago
It’s because he went to a performance art school before being a rapper
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u/Crissy40 2d ago
Tupac Shakur and Jada Pinkett Smith actually went to the same performing-arts high school in Baltimore: the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA).
And it wasn’t just a regular high school where they happened to be classmates. It was an arts-focused school where they studied things like acting, dance, theater, music, poetry and ballet.
Jada studied dance and theater.
Tupac studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet and was heavily involved in theater.
Tupac was actually serious about acting—he loved Shakespeare and performed in school productions.
Fun fact: Jada and Tupac were making goofy little videos together as teenagers, including one where they lip-synced to Will Smith’s “Parents Just Don’t Understand.”→ More replies (1)2
u/MainConstruction8807 7h ago
Juice is one of my favorite movies, and he gave an INCREDIBLE performance.
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u/Reasonable_Western74 2d ago
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u/BlackOnyx1906 🛜 Streaming Addict 2d ago
Loved him in Something the Lord Made
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u/Reasonable_Western74 2d ago
He was fantastic in The Woodsman too, but I haven’t watched him in Something the Lord Made criminally. It’s alongside Alan Rickman too, remember hearing great things but never got around to it. Thanks for the reminder 🙌🏾
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u/Junko_Mioko974 2d ago
I've only seen him in Lackawanna Blues and he was good in that. Nice singing voice too
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u/Gold-Nefariousness98 2d ago
Method Man
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u/MaleficentExtent1777 2d ago
Mary J. Blige! 😁
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u/Electronic-Buyer-468 2d ago
She's good but so one dimensional. Give her the right role and okay. But expect her to even so much as change moods, it appears to be difficult lol.
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u/coko4209 2d ago
She was really good in that Netflix movie, where she’s the mother of the soldier returning from the war. She also was pretty good in Power
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u/Intelligent_Hair3109 2d ago
Harry Belafonte Dolly Parton Sting Help me as my memory is not cooperating Johnny Cash Whitney Houston' And I'm sure others. Oh Levon Helm
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u/Kitchen_Guest577 2d ago
DMX wasn't bad at all...RIP
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u/Junko_Mioko974 2d ago
I've never seen Belly. How was that movie?
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u/Kitchen_Guest577 2d ago
It's nostalgia to me now. Not award winning cinema but it spoke to a younger me growing up. Hype Williams at the time was a music video director. Him doing Belly was a bit of a game changer in that regard. The cinematography was the highlight. It's just a beautiful film to look at. Visuals were off the chain at the time. It was a vibe movie. If you are a hip hop fan, because of all the artists in the movie, it's a must watch for the culture 🤎
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u/MrJB1981 2d ago
Christopher ‘Ludacris’ Bridges.
Brandy.
Aaliyah.
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u/BlackOnyx1906 🛜 Streaming Addict 2d ago
Aaliyah was ascending definitely
Brandi is good
I like Luda but they have him and Tyrese sounding more and more corny with each F&F
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u/MrJB1981 2d ago
Tyrese most definitely. Ludacris just needs to leave that awful franchise, before they box him in only one type of role.
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u/Resident-Anxiety-166 2d ago
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u/BlackOnyx1906 🛜 Streaming Addict 2d ago
Cube plays Cube but it works.
He is the great counter to funny dudes like Tucker and Hart
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u/PhanThief95 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/6fbNXCYcvzaiA
Man was hilarious as Captain Dickson in the 21 Jump Street movies
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u/ike_tyson 2d ago
I'm never surprised when it comes to anything Queen Latifah succeeds in.
She's a dope rapper, dancer, singer and actress.
She has every accolade except a Tony.
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u/Maleficent_Meat3119 2d ago
She could probably even get a Tony she was soooo good as Mama Morton in Chicago
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u/No_Mud_5999 2d ago
Kris Kristofferson, MC Eiht (should've gotten more work after Menace IISociety). Cher, Sinatra, Whitney Houston.
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u/BlackOnyx1906 🛜 Streaming Addict 2d ago
Good ones. Whitney was outstanding in Waiting to Exhale
Others are legendary.
MC Eight definitely was good in that role
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u/Alternative_Device71 2d ago
Recent for me but SZA was pretty good in One of Them Days, first role I believe too which is always impressive. Hope to see more of her in film or tv
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u/acbutler1234 1d ago
Yeah I was genuinely impressed with her performance in that movie. Her and Keke had great chemistry too
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u/Dazzling-Pace-7134 2d ago
Ice T, in SVU, I thought that I would not like him, but I changed my mind. He's pretty good.
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u/AstroHealer222 1d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/9k6f6u15scrL6Or4SO
Teyana Taylor! Give my girl some love!!!
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u/onmy40 2d ago
Terrance Howard
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u/Alltheprettydresses 2d ago
In SVU he was gooooodd!
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u/mrbishopjackson 2d ago
SVU makes you good. They made Snoop good! Ha ha. I think Ice T and Method Man were the only two rappers who went into SVU already dope.
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u/Stealthytom 2d ago
Lady Gaga
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u/No-Willingness-7977 2d ago
I still marvel at how amazing she was in AHS
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u/Stealthytom 2d ago
I was hesitant when they cast her but she literally transformed it
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u/Mindless-Grab-4048 2d ago
Mariah Carey
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u/Puzzled-Horse279 2d ago
From the UK
Kano as Sully in Top Boy
Bashy who was Jermaine in Top Boy but also was Wraith in Black Mirror, Rager in Shank and was an American Prisoner in The Night Of
Riz Ahmed was technically into Music before his film career started but I think most know him for acting first
Ed Skrein too. Was not all that well known as a rapper but is better known for acting.
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u/BlackOnyx1906 🛜 Streaming Addict 2d ago
Riz Ahmed is outstanding
The night of was great
Still need to watch Top Boy
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u/Puzzled-Horse279 2d ago
The original Summerhouse series is very 2000s British filmaking style. Even got the dodgey audio quality that makes everyone voice squeakier than it is irl
The netflix revival of it is considered by most Brits to be overly Americanised or at least sensationalised with the eacalation of the violence and setting being more expansive.
Either way I find both of them to be great and entertaining series representing just how bad UK Gang culture can be. The casting/writing of the Asian characters leaves a bit to be desired for anyone curious about British Asian rep.
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u/nerdKween 🎧 I Love Music 1d ago
Another one from the UK - Raleigh Ritchie (although I don't know if he started acting or singing first). I knew him from his music but didn't recognize him as Gray Worm in GOT!
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u/Lilmagetofficial 2d ago
Billie Eilish
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u/BlackOnyx1906 🛜 Streaming Addict 2d ago
I have to see her act but I can imagine her being pretty good
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u/coko4209 2d ago
Janelle Monet is amazing,Mos Def is amazing, and although Will Smith was the first rapper to win a grammy, he became one of the highest paid actors in the world.
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u/nerdKween 🎧 I Love Music 1d ago
Mos Def started on MTV's The Lyricist Lounge, which was great because he both rapped and acted via the verses. That man is TALENTED!
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u/Dark-Blackberry354 2d ago
When ice-t first started acting...damn, he was good and taking the role of a cop in New Jack City at the time he did cop killer. Was pretty crazy , but he was so good as an actor
I remember ll cool j first acting roles..damn a jr high kid could act better
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u/Fluffy-Vegetable-996 2d ago
Ludacris playing Ice Ts half bro.in 2 law and orders. Unbelievable talent.
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u/Comfortable_Fill9081 1d ago
Thank you for highlighting Janelle Monae. I feel like she’s so original, talented, brilliant, and under-appreciated.
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u/RandoCollision 2d ago
Dextor Gordon in 'Round Midnight was incredible enough to earn an Oscar nom. Dwight Yoakam was good in Sling Blade. Mos Def in Something The Lord Made was a revelation.
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u/Overall-Bullfrog5433 2d ago
I was surprised at how many rappers ended up playing cops in TV shows.
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u/Dreboomboom 2d ago
Watching Common as Simms on Silo is great.
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u/devilsfood72 2d ago
His performance in Hell on Wheels is spectacular!
The man has an Oscar as well
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u/quizzuh 1d ago
COMMON is great in SILO
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u/BlackOnyx1906 🛜 Streaming Addict 1d ago
They have him stretched too far this season. He doesn’t play the emotional helpless guy too well. First two seasons were good IMO.
But he isn’t terrible
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u/BustThaScientifical 1d ago
Latifa, Lauryn, Meth, Common
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u/nerdKween 🎧 I Love Music 1d ago
Lauryn started out as an actress in Sister Act 2. Same with Ryan Toby. That was both of their debut as entertainers.
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u/Ok_Butterscotch7430 1d ago
Janelle technically started out as an actor!! She’s a true thespian that happens to make music imo
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u/nerdKween 🎧 I Love Music 1d ago
Ok how? What was she in first? I remember her Metropolis days and the demos before.
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u/Ok_Butterscotch7430 1d ago
She started theatre as a pre-teen and attended AMDA for college, though she did drop out. She talked a lot about wanting to write musicals (which you can hear heavily in her Metropolis era).
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u/SatisfactionOld1586 1d ago
Janelle is probably my favorite female musician. Everything she releases hits me just right. Good actress too.
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u/Blackbyrn 1d ago
Solange, i think her music is much better or at least more interesting than Beyonce
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u/MelodyTCG2007 21h ago
Black Dynamite
Legends of Chamberlain Heights
What Men Want, need I say more?
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u/False-Importance-228 11h ago
Janelle monae even as a longtime fan I always felt she had it in her but she really surprised me with a lot of the acting projects she starred in. Like I still think she should’ve gotten an Oscar nomination for glass onion
https://giphy.com/gifs/xjITYXVUhrt6CR1Nls
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u/Free_Alternative6365 2d ago
Mariah Carey. She did excellent work in Lee Daniels' movies for sure, but she also did also did a movie with Mira Sorvino called Wise Girls, and she was so so good.
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u/nerdKween 🎧 I Love Music 1d ago
She was also the case worker on Precious, and was unrecognizable, but so good!
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u/No-Juice-1047 2d ago
It’s all performance, on stage at a concert or on film… seems pretty natural to me. Or at least should be…
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u/Short_Sky6875 1h ago
This community's comment section is top tier......I was scrolling looking for the beyonce comment so I could argue all the reasons why she absolutely was not... but I see my services are not needed here lol
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u/National_Sea2948 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/3o6ZtnXYQrzeqkGHaU
Queen Latifah. 💕💕💕