Memorial Day weekend: how to celebrate? Nothing quite says “screw spring—let’s do summer” like blockbuster movies starring rappers who ditched lucrative music careers in order to become actors. It happened a lot, remember? Especially in and around the ’90s. Will Smith, Eminem, Ice Cube, Ice-T, Marky Mark Wahlberg, Ludacris…icons with the hubris to try the silver screen instead and have it totally work out.
But what if more rappers had made the leap? That’s a rhetorical question—movies (and life) would’ve been better, obviously. To prove it, here are some movies that would’ve been more memorable with rappers.
The Godfather
Starring Biggie, not Brando.
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Only Coolio could improve upon Gene Wilder’s performance.
Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot, with a dose of Missy Elliott.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Low hanging fruit, Hollywood.
And of course…
See NONE of those movies and a whole bunch of real ones this Memorial Day weekend on IFC’s rapper-filled movie marathon.