Ever since the days of Krush Groove, Wild Style, Beat Street, and Breakin' in the 1980s, movies about the subculture of rap and hip-hop have continued to proliferate. In recent years, biopics about such iconic rappers as Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur, N.W.A., and more have also been produced as the musical subgenre continues to grow in popularity. Whether a rapper plays themself on screen or is portrayed by another actor often differentiates the quality of the rhymes.
However, one determining factor for the best movie rappers of all time excludes the recitation of a real-life rappers' preexisting songs as seen in most hip-hop biopics.
Patti - Patti Cake$ (2017)
Although she employs a much less-poetic style of trap-rap, Australian actress Danielle Macdonald acquits herself well as the titular rapper Patti Cake$.
Macdonald plays Patricia Dombrowski, aka Killa P aka Patti Cake$, a swagged-out aspiring rapper out to make a name for herself in her dumpy hometown in New Jersey. The brand of rap Patti spits may not be appreciated by golden-age purists, but her ability to ride a beat and bend syllables are impressive for an untrained amateur.
MC Gusto - CB4 (1993)
Although this list excludes outright imitations as seen in such biopics as All Eyez On Me, Notorious, Straight Outta Compton, etc., Chris Rock's lampoon as MC Gusto in CB4 is good enough to make the grade.
Much like the movie Fear of a Black Hat, the film is a parody of N.W.A, in which Rock plays the Eazy-E caricature MC Gusto. Along with his rap partners Dead Mike and Stab Master Arson, Gusto raps hardcore gangster-rap bars redolent of early 90s Los Angeles.
Jay Bulworth - Bulworth - (1996)
While Warren Beatty employs an A-B-C nursery rhyme pattern in Bulworth, the fact that he raps roughly 90% of his dialogue as a socially-conscious politician out to incite change deserves a ton of credit. It's the message, not the method.
With substance over style, Bulworth uses the bully pulpit of a state senator to spout trenchant rhymes that speak directly to his African-American constituency. As he speaks truth to power, Bulworth begins falling for political activist Nina (Halle Berry).
Radha Blank - The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020)
Written, directed by, and starring Radha Blank, The 40-Year-Old Version may feature a rudimentary throwback rhyming style, but the content of the lyrics are as poetic as any in recent memory.
Blank plays Radha, an aspiring New York playwright teaching drama to inner-city kids to earn a living. Stuck at a crossroads, Radha redirects course in a midlife meltdown and decides to become a rapper at age 40. Radha's stream of consciousness style of rhyming is honest, expressive, and heartfelt as she begins to express herself in ways her stage writing could never afford.
DJay - Hustle & Flow (2005)
Terrence Howard landed the lone Oscar nomination of his career for his portrayal of DJay, a Memphis pimp turned DYI street rapper in Hustle & Flow. The film also earned Three 6 Mafia an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
What makes Howard's rhyming so exquisite is the long takes, lack of cutaways, and overall verisimilitude. One can tell Howard put the time and effort in to learn how to keep the beat, flow naturally, and express his lyrics with the requisite emotion to hit hard.
Kid 'N Play - House Party (1990)
In the 80s and 90s, rap duo Kid 'n Play was often mocked for having clean, positive lyrics in a time when explicit gangster rap was prevalent. However, take a look at their performances in the House Party movies or Class Act to witness their lyrical skills.
In House Party, Kid (Christopher Reid) 'n Play (Christopher Martin) portray fictionalized versions of themselves. During an epic bash, Play throws when his parents are out of town, Kid and Play face off in a house-party rap battle in which they clown on each other with piercing precision.
LL Cool J - Wildcats (1986)
While LL Cool J has become an accomplished actor in his own right, the Hall-of-Fame rapper first showcased his rhyming superiority on the big screen by playing himself in the 1985 film Krush Groove (pictured). One year later, he played a "Rapper" in the Goldie Hawn football movie Wildcats.
As one of the all-time greatest rappers who ever lived, LL helped bring hip-hop into the mainstream during the 1980s. LL's track "Football Song" is featured in the closing credits and on the soundtrack for the film.
Collin - Blindspotting (2018)
In a character he wrote, the poetic expression Daveed Digs showed as Collin in Blindspotting ranks among the top cinematic rappers of all time. Although he doesn't rhyme over a beat, his heartfelt Accapella raps eclipse the best of the spoken word.
Collin and his best friend Miles (Raphael Casal) are furniture-movers working in gentrified Oakland. With three days remaining on his probation sentence, Collin intends to lay low and stay out of trouble, but Miles' loud mouth and hot tempers lead to anything but. The film ends with a powerful rap verse recited by Collin that articulates everything he's been feeling throughout the film.
Big Blak Afrika - Bamboozled (2000)
Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def, played a rapper named Cav in Brown Sugar in 2002. However, the rhymes he spits as Big Blak Afrika in Spike Lee's Bamboozled are far superior.
Julius Hopkins, aka Big Blak Afrika, is a militant pro-black nationalist out to incite change through his controversial, politically-charged rap lyrics in the film. The greedy corporate executive Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) faces pushback from Afrika and his rap crew the Mau Maus (The Roots) over the racially insensitive minstrel show he produces in the film.
B-Rabbit - 8 Mile (2002)
In a heightened version of himself in the 2002 biopic 8 Mile, Eminem proves he is the best fictional and nonfictional rapper alive. The underdog story tells of B-Rabbit, an impoverished single father working in a Detroit auto factory who has dreams of becoming a well-respected rapper.
With the help of his boy Future (Mekhi Phifer), Rabbit climbs the ranks of the local battle rap scene in Detroit, defeating the likes of Lotto, Lickety Split, and Poppa Doc to earn ultimate emcee respect.