An Open Letter to Rapper-Actors

Fellow sculptors of the spoken word lend me your ears:

Last Sunday, MC Lyte told interviewer James Brown, "I wish I could write the committee that gives these rappers tv shows and tell them to stop it ... (the rappers) are horrible!"

A dis, to be sure. But she has a point. You guys -- rapper/actors -- have problems with emoting. I understand the bind; one cannot show ones true feelings on the screen in public. Emotions signify vulnerability and weakness -- and weakness, in Bed Sty, means you lose cred, which means, unfortunately, you lose listeners and fans.

As a result of these enforced masks, rapper-actors -- on tv and in the movies -- turn in one dimensional performances that range from the rage infused sneer of Ice Cube to, er, the rage infused staredown of Ice T. No one wants to spend ten bucks looking at an infomercial on how cool the actor is ... well, nix that ... but no one will respect that persona as an actor. Neither awards nor critical acclaim will be forthcoming.

Then there is the cocky LL Cool J smirk. And what else? What other moods and emotional nuances are portrayed by the rapper actors?

Granted, Will Smith was never Jay Z, but he has signalled his desire to show the full range of emotions necessary to become an A-List actor, even if it meant starring as a vulnerable young con man with identity issues. I won't talk about Bagger Vance ... (yessum, weeza all trying ta' fuget about Bagga Vance 'roun these here parts!).

You see my point? Ice T revolves around the limited roles of cop and thug, while Ice Cube eternally plays the street tough guy -- himself, essentially-- in situations, odd situations, with anacondas, or in the Persian Gulf, or some such abomination. And LL Cool J is, well, LL Cool J. What can one say about LL? Rollerball? Toys?!

His best role was in Charlie's Angels, where he remains silent.

Then there is Master G, Method Man, Redman and the rest of the up and comers, moving up the entertainment food chain -- as well they should -- from slinging CD's to gracing the screen. Even Method Man has talked about the limits of rapper actors, saying at a taping of the MTV Awards last year, "We're not Will Smiths yet."

No, you guys aren't ... but the first step would be to broaden your horizons and stop limiting your performances. The colors of emotion that can be rendered in a performance -- whether in acting on screen or even in a blog -- are limited only by the imagination.

I look forward to seeing Ice T playing the role of a developmentally disabled man going up against poverty in a remote New England town in an indie flic. I do ... I really really do.