13 Rappers Featured On Reality TV

Reality television shows became popular after the launch of MTV’s The Real World in 1992. Then came the wildly well liked Survivor and Big Brother, and from then on reality tv has been infiltrating our televisions sets.

With the reality television trend comes other trends, such as rappers who have their own reality shows or are featured in them. One of the first reality shows that starred a rapper, and was pretty much run by him, was Making The Band 2. Puff Daddy went on a search to find the next big music group. In the following seasons he put together Danity Kane and Da Band, one of whom is still making music.

Some of these reality shows follow old-time rappers who now have families, such as Run DMC’s Rev Run, Coolio and Ice-T. Run’s House starring Rev Run and his family ran for six seasons. It showed their family going through their issues, but for the most part presented them as a functional and loving family. As for Coolio’s reality show Coolio Rules, Coolio and his family seemed alienated from each other.

The current reality television series doing well featuring rappers include T.I. in T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, Love & Hip-Hop and Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta. Funny enough all of these shows are shown on VH1. This channel was ahead of the game when it came to reality tv featuring celebrities when they began airing what they called Celebreality in 2005.

Here’s a list of 13 reality shows featuring rappers in all their drama-filled glory.

Snoop Dogg in Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood (June 2004 to November 2005)

This reality series followed Snoop Dogg and his family in their daily lives. Those most followed on the show were Snoop Dogg, his wife Shante, daughter Cori (whom he calls “Choc”), youngest son Cordell (whom he calls “Rook”) and oldest son Corde (whom he calls “Spank”). Most of the series shows Snoop juggling his commitments with show business and his family. The first season of the show premiered on December 7, 2007 and ended March 2, 2008. The second season debuted on November 30, 2008 and ended on January 25, 2009. The show only ran for two seasons on the E! network. The show was executive produced and directed by David Roma, along with Ted Chung, Constance Schwartz and Anthony Mandler.

Run DMC’s Rev Run in Run’s House (October 2005 to July 2009)

Run’s House ran for six seasons, premiering on October 13, 2005 on MTV, and followed the lives of Run DMC’s Rev Run and his family. The family members most frequently filmed for the show included Rev Run, otherwise known as Joseph Ward Simmons; his wife Justine Simmons; his daughters Vanessa and Angela Simmons; and his sons Joseph "JoJo" Ward Simmons, Jr., Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III and Russell "Russy" Simmons II. During the show Victoria Anne Simmons was born on September 26, but she died shortly after due to a birth defect. Later on the family decided to adopt and welcomed Miley Justine Simmons to the family in September 2007. The last episode of Run’s House aired on July 13, 2009. This show also produced a spin-off reality series, Daddy’s Girls, which aired on MTV on January 5, 2009. The show starred Angela and Vanessa Simmons as they launched their own line of footwear called Pastry Footwear in Los Angeles.

Flavor Flav’s in Flavor of Love (January 2006 to May 2008)

This reality dating game show starred Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav and was a spin-off of the show Strange Love, which resulted in the failed relationship of the rapper and Brigette Nielsen. The first episode of Flavor of Love aired January 1, 2006 on VH1 as part of their Celebreality lineup. The show was modeled after The Bachelor and had twenty different women, all of them living with each other in a mansion located in Encino, California, competing for the heart of Flav. Throughout the series the women compete against each other to win dates with Flav. The rapper also gave each girl a nickname on the show and sought relationship advice from his chauffeur “Big Rick,” his mother, his former flame Nielsen (in season one) and Tiffany Pollard (in season two). At the end of each episode there would be a clock ceremony where clocks would be handed out to each girl that remained in the competition and the losers were sent home. The winner of the first season was Nicole Deannae Alexander(Hoopz), the winner of the second season was Chandra Davis (Deelishis), and the winner of the third season was Tresha (Thing 2). The last episode of the series aired on May 26, 2008. There were a few spin-off shows that were created because of Flavor of Love and those include I Love New York, Charm School and I Love Money.

Juicy J and DJ Paul (Three 6 Mafia) in Adventures In Hollyhood (April 5, 2007 to May 23, 2007)

Rappers Juicy J and Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul were the stars of Adventures In Hollyhood, which premiered on MTV on April 5, 2007. This reality show, which mostly took place in their Californian home, followed the rappers, along with Hypnotize Minds artist Project Pat (Juicy’s older brother) and their personal assistants Computer and Big Triece. Some of the antics the group gets into include getting kicked out of their house because Big Triece pees on Jennifer love Hewitt’s lawn. Throughout the season the duo pitch a movie idea, write the song “Goin’ Crazy” for Jackass Number Two, Big Triece proposes to his girlfriend and Juicy J goes to a movie casting. Some of the recurring guest stars were H.C.P. artist Lil Wyte, Dorothy Dandridge and Three 6 Mafia manager Rosenberg (Roses). Some of the one-time guests included Lil Jon, Ashton Kutcher and Hugh Hefner. The series only ran for eight episodes with the last episode airing May 23, 2007.

Salt-N-Pepa in The Salt-n-Pepa Show (October 2007 to March 2008)

Salt-N-Pepa members Sandra Denton (Pepa) and Cheryl James (Salt) starred in The Salt–N-Pepa Show, which premiered on VH1 on October 14, 2007. The series, which aired for two seasons, follows the duo several years after the group’s breakup. In season one Pepa and Salt debate whether to reunite the group. The two clash because Pepa wants to perform like the “old” days and Salt, who has adopted more Christian values, doesn’t want to perform their old lyrics and dance moves, which she now believes are too raunchy. In the second season the drama continues as Salt and Pepa seek to work on their relationship with the help of their life coach Iyania Vanzant. The last episode aired on March 24, 2008.

50 Cent in 50 Cent: The Money & The Power (November 2008 to January 2009)

50 Cent created 50 Cent: The Money & The Power on MTV, which premiered on November 6, 2008, and ran for only one season. The show was modeled after Donald Trump’s The Apprentice. The show followed fourteen aspiring rap moguls who were all given challenges by the rapper with the winner receiving $100,000 to start their own business endeavor. There was a panel of judges including G-Unit’s Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. Some of the guests featured on the program were Chris Lighty, Ryan Schinman, LL Cool J, DJ Whoo Kid, Miss Info, and Danity Kane’s Aubrey O'Day. The contestant Ryan was the winner of the last episode, which aired on January 22, 2009.

Coolio in Coolio’s Rules (October 2008 to present)

This reality show followed rapper Coolio and his children at their home in Los Angeles. His children featured on the show included Artis, Artisha, Brandi and Jackie. Jarez (Jarel Posey), Coolio’s best friend, also made a lot of appearances on the show. In the show the rapper balances his music, family life, a search for a romantic relationship, his chef career all while being a single parent. The show aired first aired on October 28, 2008 and ran for six episodes with the last episode airing on December 2, 2008. It was shown on the MuchMore television channel and is produced by Oxygen Studios.

Jim Jones, Joe Budden and Consequence in Love & Hip Hop (March 2011 to present)

Love & Hip Hop follows a cast of several women involved with hip-hop in New York City. The VH1 series has been running for four seasons. The current cast includes Yandy Smith, Erica Mena, Tahiry Jose, Tara Wallace, Erica Jean and Amina Buddafly. Rappers Jim Jones, Joe Budden and Consequence have all made recurring guest appearances on the series. The first episode of the first season debuted on March 6, 2011. The last episode of the fourth season premiered on January 27, 2014 followed by reunion episodes, which aired on February 3 and February 10. The show has been renewed for a fifth season.

Ice-T in Ice Loves Coco (June 2011 to January 2013)

Ice Loves Coco is an E! reality show that aired for three seasons. The series followed the daily lives of rapper Ice-T and his wife Coco Austin. The first episode of the show aired on June 12, 2011 and the last episode aired on January 6, 2013. Ice-T announced the cancellation of the show on his podcast on February 4 of 2014. He says the couple is planning to possibly host their own talk show.

T.I. in T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle (December 2011 to present)

VH1 reality show follows T.I., his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris and their six children, Lelah Amore Harris (daughter), Deyjah Imani Harris (daughter), Messiah Ya’Majesty Harris (son), Domani Uriah Harris (son), Major Philant Harris (son) and Clifford “King” Joseph Harris III (son). The first episode of the series aired on December 5, 2011 and has run for four seasons so far. Throughout the first two seasons of the show the family deals with rebuilding their bond after T.I. returns from serving a yearlong prison sentence. During the third season of the show T.I. promotes his album, Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head and his movie role in Identity Thief. Meanwhile, Tiny manages her girl group OMG Girlz and takes care of the family. In the fourth season T.I. returns home to the family in Atlanta after his America’s Most Wanted Tour and acting gig on House of Lies. Tiny works on her G.E.D. and keeps up with the OMG Girlz. The last episode of the fourth season aired on May 19, 2014.

Lil Scrappy in Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta (June 2012 to present)

Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta is a VH1 spin-off show of Love & Hip Hop. This series follows a cast of several women involved with hip-hop in Atlanta. The current cast includes Josephine Hernandez, Erica Dixon, Rasheeda, Karlie Redd, Mimi Faust and Tammy Rivera. Recording artist K. Michelle was featured in the first and second season and Traci Steele only in the second season. Rapper Lil Scrappy makes recurring appearances on the show. He is the ex-fianceeof Erica Dixon. The first episode of the series aired on June 18, 2012. Currently the show is in its third season. The next episode of the show airs July 21.

The Game in Marrying The Game (November 2012 to present)

This VH1 reality show, which debuted on November 19, 2012, follows rapper The Game and his fiancé Tiffney Cambridge. They had been together for eight years and have two children together. The children’s names are King “Justice” Taylor (son) and Cali Dream Taylor (daughter). During the first season of the show the couple start to plan their wedding. In the second season the pair call off the wedding, Tiffney moves out of their home and she takes the children with her. Season three continues as the couple remains separated and the children are forced to get used to spending time alone with both parents. Additional guest appearances on the series include Harlem Caron Taylor (The Game’s son from a previous relationship), Dontay Kidd (The Game’s manager and friend) and Maya Mellon (Tiffney’s sister). The last episode of the third season aired July 2, 2014.

Nicki Minaj on American Idol (January 2013 to May 2013)

Nicki Minaj was sworn in as a new judge along with Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and returning judge Randy Jackson, during season 12 of American Idol. Before the show even started there were rumors of a feud between Minaj and Carey after a video of them leaked to TMZ. In the end 23-year-old Candice Glover was crowned the winner of the season with Kree Harrison as runner-up. Minaj and Carey both decided to leave after this season with Urban returning for season 13.