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Rappers have a long and torturous history with the movie business. It seems as though many rap stars believe that bad-boy swagger and an inflated ego is all it takes to play a stellar role in a big time Hollywood production. Unfortunately for us, many of them are dead wrong. Here is our list of the 12 rappers who should have never attempted acting.

Snoop Dogg

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No one can deny that Snoop Dogg has had a prolific rap career. Some of his albums have been among the most influential in the genre. Sadly, the same cannot be said for his acting career. Snoop stars in such forgettable films as Soul Plane and Hood of Horror in which he frequently plays the same laid back stoned pimp character. Save for a good performance in Baby Boy, Snoop is much better behind a microphone than a camera.

DMX

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DMX is another example of a talented rapper who overestimated his abilities when he stepped behind the camera. His most popular role in 1998’s Belly was little more than an onscreen portrayal of his hardened, intimidating persona. Since then, DMX has starred in violent action films such as, Cradle 2 the Grave and Never Die Alone. Despite engaging gunfire and fight scenes, you can't help but feel like you’ve seen it all before.

LL Cool J

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For all his diverse on-screen roles, LL Cool J never managed to sell as many tickets as he did albums. LL’s most notable roles include shark-killing survivor Sherman Preacher Dudley in 1999's Deep Blue Sea, Marcus Ridley in 2002’s flop remake of Rollerball, and James Todd in 2003’s average action flick, S.W.A.T. As a general rule, if LL is in it, wait until it hits the local Redbox.

Ice Cube

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From the early 90’s controversial rap outfit N.W.A, Ice Cube seems to have mellowed out in his adult life. Whereas he used to sing about car-jacking, robbing and shooting people, he now performs in the stoner comedy series, Friday, and the humorous Barbershop flicks. Ice Cube also starred in the completely unnecessary XXX sequel, State of the Union. In fact, XXX: State of the Union also featured an appearance by the next rapper who shouldn’t have turned actor, Xzibit.

 Xzibit

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Xzibit’s most notable performance was in 2006’s Gridiron Gang alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Gridiron Gang is yet another addition to the long line of inspirational sports movies to come out in the last decade, not much different in substance or performance than Coach Carter or Friday Night Lights. Xzibit can also be found hosting the MTV series Pimp My Ride, where he surprises random car owners with the chance to get their run-down vehicles customized (or “pimped”) free of charge. Much like his music career, Xzibit has not really stood out from the crowd on screen.

Redman

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Appearing alongside partner Methodman in the 2001 stoner movie How High, Redman joined a long list of rappers who publicly enjoy weed. Redman plays the character of Jamal King, a student of botany who discovers a strain of marijuana that actually helps the user perform better on tests. Perpetuating the long held stoner fantasy that the drug both gets you high and helps you be a more productive person, Redman spends most of his time on screen getting stoned, hitting on women and playing the “laidback and sarcastic thug around uptight ivy-league college kids” angle. How High remains his only national big screen feature to date, which is fortunate for all of us viewers who have seen quite enough of rappers smoking pot and making lewd jokes.

50 Cent

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Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is a prime example of a rapper-turned-actor who takes himself far too seriously. Starring in his own narcissistic movie, Get Rich or Die Trying, and later playing Spider, a character  again modeled after himself in 2008’s, Righteous Kill, 50 Cent must really believe that people care an awful lot about the man who wrote such musical gems as "Wanksta", “In Da Club,” and “I Get Money.” It would be interesting to see how 50 might hold up playing an innovative character that isn’t a rap star or gun-toting thug. Then again, he probably wouldn’t be interested in that…

Beanie Sigel

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Underground rapper Beanie Sigel has made a respectable name for himself in the Philadelphia area. Perhaps he should have stuck to advancing his career rather than making violent movies about the same tired drug dealings and gang wars we have seen time and time again. State Property is his most well known on-screen role, however the movie fails to cover any new ground or serve any other purpose than to feed the ego’s of Beanie and his rapper friends who love putting on the “hard gangster” persona.

Ludacris

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Popular artist Ludacris is quite talented at writing rap songs, often times with clever and comical lyrics. As is the case with so many in this position, the pull of Hollywood stardom must have been all too tempting. Save for a respectable role in 2004’s racially charged drama Crash, Ludacris has put his acting to work in some pretty sub-par pieces of film. Fred Claus comes to mind, as does Max Payne. It must be hard to resist the temptation to transition from big name rapper to below-average actor, and Ludacris is no exception.

Andre 3000

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Yet another mediocre artist turned hackneyed actor, Andre 3000 has graced us with his presence in 2006’s mindless, slapstick comedy flop, Scary Movie 4. If ever there was a movie that did not need to be made, Scary Movie 4 was it. Apparently not learning his lesson, Andre 3000 also played alongside Will Ferrell in 2008’s Semi-Pro. Semi-Pro was admittedly more enjoyable than his previous film, yet it is still a rather forgettable film.

Ice-T

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Hip-Hop’s original gangsta-turned-actor, Ice-T has played a great number of characters in a wide variety of movies. Ice-T has even managed to secure a lead role on the hit television series Law and Order. While Ice-T can be said to be a prolific rap artist, there is just something about his acting that we can only stand so much of. It should also not be overlooked that Ice-T chose to play Mac Daddy in 2000’s disaster, Leprechaun in the Hood.

Tyrese

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As an R&B singer, Tyrese is the artist behind songs ranging from mediocre to downright silly (for example, in his 2006 release, “One,” he seems to be trying to convince himself that he’s okay with only having sex with one girl now because he’s grown up.) What he lacks in lyrical skill he unfortunately does not make up in acting prowess. From run-of-the-mill thug “Machine Gun Joe” in 2008’s Death Race to a rather average performance in Transformers, Tyrese is simply not a pioneer of the arts.

Vanilla Ice

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Widely regarded as an industry-wide joke even in the rap world, it shocked no one when Vanilla Ice failed to impress as an on-screen actor in movies like 1991's Cool As Ice. While we can at least say of the other rappers on this last that they should have stuck to rapping, it's not clear that even this would have been the best option for Vanilla Ice.

Method Man

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While How High got its fair share of laughs, much of the humor stems from Method Man's blatant inability to act. Then again, perhaps flawless acting ability is not necessary for a movie that took home such illustrious honors as the 2002 Stony Award for "Best Stoner Movie."

Big Boi

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When a man identifies himself in the credits as "Daddy Fat Sacks" (an obvious reference to drug dealing), it's a pretty safe bet that acting is not his forté. Such is the case with Big Boi, the Bush-bashing rapper who has starred (rather unimpressively) on MTV's My Sweet 16 and season 3 of Whilin' Out.

Queen Latifah

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Queen Latifah (while not quite as bad as say, Vanilla Ice) rounds out our list because her presence in movies is painfully predictable. Almost without fail, the only time Queen Latifah appears is when the plot calls for a loud and overbearing woman who dominates the screen with her unabashed obnoxiousness. Unless this is the type of role you enjoy seeing portrayed, Queen Latifah's on-screen persona probably won't do much for you.

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