Over at our sister site
we’ve been thinking of delving into an exploration of the greatest (fictional) rappers to ever grace the screen for some time, but now that Pepsi broke out their list of
Movie Bands We Wish Existed In Real Life
, now is as good a time as ever. Of course, we are strictly speaking hip-hop here.
DJay- Hustle & Flow
Typically actors in music-centered movies don’t do the rapping themselves, but Terrance Howard isn’t your typical actor. He almost didn’t accept the role because he didn’t want to be typecasted, but once he realized how complex DJay is, he couldn’t resist. We are lucky he did, because, in addition to the stellar acting job, he actually does all the rapping himself, and it is pretty damn good. In fact his rapping even won Three 6 Mafia (who helped with the southern-splashed soundtrack) the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp”. That song might have won the award but in my opinion, Hustle & Flow (It Ain’t Over) was the best song off the soundtrack.
CB4 – CB$
I have to admit it’s been about 10 to 12 years since I have seen
CB4
, but even still, it came to mind almost immediately. Long before the days of
Grown Ups 2
, Chris Rock was actually making good movies and for the hip-hop fan, this has to be a favorite. In addition to spoofing pretty much every type of 90s rapper, there are appearances from Ice-T, Ice Cube, Flavor Flav, Eazy-E, and Shaq (if you want to consider him a rapper). The music isn’t Academy Award quality, but is enjoyable from a comedic perspective. Who doesn’t want to hear Chris Rock rap over
Straight Outta Compton
?
B. Rabbit- 8 Mile
This may or may not count as a fictional rapper, as Eminem isn’t
technically
playing himself (but totally is even though he really isn’t) but the rapping is too good not to include. The movie might be about a struggling Detroit rapper named B. Rabbit, but when he steps to the mic its all Em. Granted the “freestyles” were more than likely written, but the some of the lines will still give you chicken skin.
Dylan- Chappelle’s Show – Making The Band Skit
This is another one for the kind-of-a-real-rapper-but-not-really category, but since the fictional Dylan is more famous than the real one, I’d say it counts. Sure, Chappelle’s take on P. Diddy is great, but his Dylan impression makes this one of, if not
the
best Chappelle’s Show skit. You know what? Chappelle’s Dylan just might be my favorite fictional rapper ever, especially when he spits hot fire in the studio. My top five is actually Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, and Dylan.
When I set out to find a good list, I figured I would be swamped with deserving characters, but I was actually a little surprised at the lack of fictional rappers. I guess it is quality of quantity with this group, but who am I forgetting? And for the more rock side of the equation, be sure to check out