S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Eminem recently opened up about making the transition from emcee to actor and how rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube helped encourage his big screen journey.
While Em credits Cube for words of wisdom, Slim Shady said acting is tougher than it looks.
“I think Ice Cube said this one time; I think I heard him say this one time,” Em said in an interview. “‘If you can rap, if you can perform to the camera for singing and videos, it should be a pretty, fairly natural transition.’ I felt like having heard him say that was like, ‘Oh, this may be fairly easy’ — and it wasn’t. It’s a whole different thing, because you may be used to performing to the camera, but it’s a whole different ball game when the music is off and you have lines that you need to say. It takes a minute to get used to.” (RapFIx)
Last summer, Em opened up about waiting for the right role to land in his hands.
“We just haven’t got the right script yet,” Em said about starring in a movie. “We’ve had a couple of things here and there, but nothing’s jumped out. It’s gotta be something that makes me wanna stop doing the music. It’s gotta be good enough to make me wanna stop doing that. I love it so much.” (MTV)
The rapper starred in 2002’s 8 Mile which later earned him an Academy Award for the film’s soundtrack record, “Lose Yourself.”
A rap version of “Saturday Night Fever.” B-Rabbit, a wannabe rapper from the wrong side of Detroit’s 8 Mile, has problems: he dumps his girlfriend when she tells him she’s pregnant; to save money to make a demo tape, he moves into his alcoholic mom’s trailer; his job’s a dead end, and he’s just choked at the local head-to-head rap contest. Things improve when he meets Alex – an aspiring model headed for New York – and a fast-talking pal promises to set up the demo. Then new setbacks: Alex isn’t faithful, mom rejects him, rifts surface with his friends, and he’s mugged by rivals. Everything hinges on the next rap showdown at the club. Can B-Rabbit pull truth out of his cap? (IMDb)
The LOX’s Jadakiss recently discussed his intent to make a name for himself as an actor.
“I want to do more acting and I want to do voiceovers, too. I want to get in some of these animated joints; that’s where the money’s at. I think I got the voice. I know I can do it. I can be one of these squirrels… one of these birds, or dolphins or something, or pandas or monkeys, or seals [Laughs].” (VIBE)
Check out some scenes from Eminem’s 8 Mile movie down below:
