Yesterday, we learned that Kanye West would be making an appearance in the upcoming sequel to one of Ben Stiller's best-loved movies: "Zoolander." It won't be the first time Mr. West has shown up in a sequel that Will Ferrell is involved with, and he won't be the first rapper to make a cameo in a "Zoolander" film either (Lil Kim shows up very briefly in the original).
Throughout the last thirty or so years, rappers' ties to the film world have strengthened, with rapper/actors like Will Smith, Ice-T, Bow Wow and Ice Cube finding great success in both industries. Alternatively, rappers are often featured in random (usually uncredited) cameo roles in movies, and that's what we're looking at today. Artists who play major roles in films, such as Ludacris in "Huslte & Flow" or Ice-T in "Tank Girl," aren't considered-- instead, we're focusing on those who either show up for a matter of seconds, play themselves or perform songs in movies.
Watch clips of the ten best movie cameos by rappers ahead.
Drake & Kanye West in "Anchorman 2"
This was an obvious choice, as it just happened last year, but Will Ferrell showed Drizzy and Yeezus some love by giving them a pair of dope cameos, both of which involved some truly ridiculous outfits. Ferrell is behind a number of the picks on this list (with an honorable mention going out to Mos Def in "Talladega Nights"), so he clearly has a love for hip-hop.
Biz Markie In "Men In Black II"
This cameo's great because it features the Biz doing what he's always done best: beatboxing. Engaging in a hilarious battle with Will Smith, the hip-hop legend plays an alien, and got a chance to shine well past his prime.
Fat Joe In "Scary Movie 3"
As "Scary Movie 3" was released just about a year after "8 Mile," you know they had to parody B. Rabbit's battle rap scenes. Luckily enough, they were able to get Fat Joe on-board, and he takes down the movie's Eminem stand-in pretty handily.
Chingy in "Scary Movie 4"
Another "Scary Movie"! This one's the shortest cameo on the list, with the "Right Thurr" rapper appearing for all of 10 seconds. Still, this was hilarious the first time you saw it.
Tupac & Digital Underground in "Nothing But Trouble"
"Nothing But Trouble" is a comically bad 1991 flick (how bad? like, 9% on Rotten Tomatoes bad) that features a young Tupac and the rest of Digital Underground in one scene.
Kanye West in "The Love Guru"
On the subject of bad movies, "The Love Guru" is one of Mike Myers' worst. We do get to see him and Kanye together for the first time since the "George Bush hates black people" incident though, so that's cool. Justin Timberlake also shows up in this clip.
Cypress Hill & Naughty By Nature in "Meteor Man"
Another flop, "Meteor Man" features a title character who brings together the bloods and the crips, who are respectively played by Naughty By Nature and Cypress Hill. Big Daddy Kane also shows up as a member of the Golden Lords.
Eminem & RZA in "Funny People"
Eminem and RZA both got scenes to themselves in Judd Apatow's "Funny People," and both are amazing. It's hard to top Em's though, in which he starts beef with Ray Romano. Not even his appearance in "The Interview" could top this.
Snoop Dogg in "Old School"
A performance by Snoop Dogg (covering "Paid In Full" no less) kicks off one of "Old School"'s most memorable scenes, another one of Will Ferrell's intersections with hip-hop. Shout out to Speaker City.
Vanilla Ice in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II"
Vanilla Ice doesn't have many amazing achievements in his career, but this is certainly one of them. He got to soundtrack a turtle brawl, and composed an original song for it. How many other people can put that on their resume?
