Once upon a time Hip-Hop culture and the police went together about as well as Conan O’Brien and NBC. You could get shot just for breathing the word “cop” in certain neighborhoods. But lately a lot of rappers have traded in their gang paraphernalia (or costuming depending on who you ask) to don the uniforms of true blue heroes. These are the best portrayal of 5-0 by a rapper.
5) Tupac Shakur
We are starting off cautiously with Tupac Shakur (2 Pac to the Hip-Hop community) since he straddles the fence by playing a corrupt cop in Gang Related, which might as well be a gangsta with a badge. This was Tupac’s last film role and boy did he go out with a bang (no pun intended, respect Tupac). You could think of Tupac as the last person who’d want to pretend to be a cop or you could think of his earlier rap career and his many run ins with the law as extensive research.
Best Cop role: Gang Related
4) Marky Mary
Mark Wahlberg has become quite accustomed to wearing the badge. He’s sported blue in everything from the god-awful Max Payne adaptation to We Own the Night to the critically acclaimed Departed. But let’s face it, he wasn’t exactly a rough and rugged badboy rapper to begin with. In fact, playing hard-nosed cops probably increased his street cred. I know I’d be more afraid of Staff Sgt. Dignam than the boy who desperately needs a belt.
Best Cop role: The Departed
3) LL Cool J
He has a long resume of playing cops, The Hard Way, S.W.A.T., Mindhunters and even the security guard in Halloween: H2O. But when you are a jacked badass trying to prove yourself as an actor I guess you have to play cops or criminals. Or cooks apparently. The best of his demonstration in Law Enforcement is definitely his role opposite Robin Chris O’Donnell in NCIS: Los Angeles. Though again, LL wasn’t the most threatening rapper outside a battle, so the transition goes a lot smoother than most.
Best Cop role: NCIS: Los Angeles
2) Ice T
Ice T was great as a maverick cop in New Jack City, but somehow he seems more like a perp than a detective in Law & Order: SVU. I love the show and I love his role on the show, but it’s hard to shake his pimpin’ image from your brain and suspend disbelief that much, especially when he still behaves like a pimp off camera.
Best Cop role: Law & Order: SVU
1) Fresh Prince/Will Smith
I don’t think there are many roles he hasn’t played, but he sure likes being a cop. His back story is a detective in Men In Black, he plays a cowboy sheriff in Wild Wild West, a future cop in I, Robot, and a buddy cop in Bad Boys. It’s pretty safe to say that if Will Smith is on the case it’s going to get solved.
Best Cop role: Bad Boys
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