Source: New Line Cinema / Getty
As the year-long celebration of Hip-Hop 50 and the annual month-long festivities of Halloween currently battle it out for dominance in the month of October, you might be surprised to discover just how closely the two worlds have collided over time. Rappers specifically have a shared penchant for randomly popping up in horror films, most of the time playing a slightly dramatized version of their already-popular hip-hop moniker.
In recent times, we’ve seen the Tinseltown trend made popular in the past by emcees like LL Cool J and Snoop Dogg continue on through new age rappers-turned-actors like Kid Cudi and Chance The Rapper, just to name a few.
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To show our love both for the genre of hip-hop and the joy of Halloween, we decided to revisit some of the many occasions when your favorite lyricists in the game tried their luck at putting on a horror show on film. Some were able to make it a convincing performance, meanwhile others, well, probably shouldn’t quit their day job anytime soon.
The criteria for what constitutes a win versus a fail comes down to a combination of factors: was it memorable? Did the film have box office success? Did their character even survive to see the end?! We broke it down equally into five wins and five fails, each with reason behind the choice. Overall though, landing a film role and expanding your brand from music into film is technically a win in itself. We just decided to be a hater for Halloween this year!
Keep scrolling for a hip-hop Halloween countdown of the best and worst rapper cameos in scary movie history. As always, let us know if you agree, where we might’ve got it wrong and who else you would’ve included on this list:
1. FAIL: Busta Rhymes in ‘Halloween: Resurrection’ (2002)
Nobody is believing that the Michael Myers met his end at the hands of a karate-kicking Busta Rhymes.
2. WIN: Rah Digga in ‘Thirteen Ghosts’ (2001)
In addition to being the sole surviving female representation on this list, she gets a pass for making it to the end and providing the comedic relief.
3. FAIL: Fredro Starr in ‘Vegas Vampires’ (2003)
The overall quality bites on its own, but the acting itself puts the nail in the coffin on this movie completely.
4. WIN: LL Cool J in ‘Halloween H20: 20 Years Later’ (1998)
LL being on a 2-0 survival streak, the other being 1999’s Deep Blue Sea, gave him the win off respect.
5. FAIL: Coolio in ‘Dracula 3000’ (2004)
R.I.P to a real one, but even Coolio knew he was wrong for this one!
6. WIN: Snoop Dogg in ‘Bones’ (2001)
It’s his movie! Automatic win.
7. FAIL: Ice-T in ‘Leprechaun In The Hood’ (2000)
Smoking weed with the film’s slasher has got to be on some level of jumping the shark.
8. WIN: Ice Cube In ‘Anaconda’ (1997)
He saved the day and survived! Don’t stop, get it, get it!
9. FAIL: Redman in ‘Seed of Chucky’ (2004)
Adding insult to injury, he was playing himself!
10. WIN: Method Man in ‘Vampires vs. The Bronx’ (2020)
A new age comedy-horror that keeps the tradition going, and has some culture thrown in for added measure. Sounds like a win to us. Also, Meth has simply been killing it in all his recent film roles.
