17 Rappers Who Became Reality TV Stars
Whether you like it or not, hip-hop is prime fodder for reality TV. From rapper-versus-rapper competitions to melodramatic relationship exposés, the inherent drama of the rap world offers a goldmine of opportunities for television producers. With the most recent success of the Love And Hip-Hop series, producers have even less of a reason to avoid turning the cameras on rappers' real lives.
XXL has decided to explore hip-hop's history with the television subgenre. From the good, to the bad, to the down-right morally repugnant, here are 17 rappers who found fame and fortune with reality TV.
Snoop Dogg
Show: Snoop Dogg's Father Hood
Although he may be best remembered for crafting a litany of hip-hop classics, Snoop Dogg found a way to translate his musical fame into reality TV stardom. The Doggfather's Snoop Dogg's Father Hood became an instant hit, taking fans inside the lives of Snoop and his family from an unexpected angle.
Rev Run
Show: Run's House
Run's House set the gold standard for hip-hop reality television as MTV captured the personal life one of hip-hop's most iconic MCs, Rev Run. The all-encompassing program covered the day-to-day hilarity of the Simmons' family life, as well as more tragic moments like Run's wife Justine's miscarriage.
T.I.
Show: T.I.'s Road To Redemption & T.I. And Tiny: The Family Hustle
T.I.'s the rare rapper on this list to snag two reality shows in his decade-plus career. The first, MTV's T.I.'s Road To Redemption, documented Tip's 45 days before his incarceration in 2009 for weapons charges. The second, VH1's ongoing T.I. And Tiny: The Family Hustle, follows the Run's House mode of operations by capturing the Atlanta rapper and his family's day-to-day lives.
Ice-T
Shows: Ice-T's Rap School & Ice Loves Coco
Although short lived, Ice-T enjoyed his first taste of reality TV in 2006 with Ice-T's Rap School, a spin-off of Gene Simmons' School Of Rock, which found Ice mentoring a group of prep school students in the art of rhyming. However, the hip-hop OG found his true calling in 2011 with Ice Loves Coco, a show that follows him and his wife Coco's daily existence.
Game
Show: Marrying The Game
In one of the more unexpected moves in his career, Game allowed VH1 to document the months leading up to his marriage to Tiffney Cambridge on the show Marrying The Game. Although the couple almost ended up canceling their marriage as a result of on-air issues coming to the forefront, they eventually put the reality TV behind them and reconciled.
Mac Miller
Show: Mac Miller And The Most Dope Family
Mac Miller's MTV2 show marks one of the few hip-hop reality shows that doesn't rely upon relationships and marriage to create the bulk of its entertainment. Instead, Mac Miller And The Most Dope Family follows Mac and his high school friends taking up residence in Los Angeles. Suffice to say, hijinks ensue.
Flavor Flav
Show: The Surreal Life, Strange Love & Flavor Of Love
Flavor Flav is perhaps the most notorious reality show rap legend on this list, partly due to his legacy in hip-hop and his infamous antics. The Public Enemy hype-man got his start on The Surreal Life, which ultimately led to Strange Love and his reality TV calling card Flavor Of Love, a game show in which women vied for the rap legend's affections.
Joe Budden
Show: Love And Hip-Hop: New York
Although Love And Hip-Hop features numerous hip-hop icons exposing the inner workings of their personal relationships, perhaps the rapper who's become the biggest star of the series is Joe Budden. From his tumultuous relationship with on-again, off-again girlfriend Tahiry Jose, to his highly publicized scuffle with Consequence, Budden's antics make for good TV.
50 Cent
Show: 50 Cent's The Money And The Power
In true 50 Cent fashion, the G-Unit mogul earned himself a The Apprentice-style reality show in which contestants duked it out to become the next great music industry moguls. Unlike Trump, whose TV show spawned an empire of spin-offs and sequels, Fif's MTV2 program was cancelled after its first season.
Nicki Minaj
Show: Nicki Minaj: My Truth & American Idol
Despite only being in the music industry for a short time, Nicki Minaj has already clocked in two reality programs. The first of the two was last year's three-episode E! series Nicki Minaj: My Truth. The second came with her short-lived stint as a judge on American Idol, which found the YMCMB starlet feuding with Mariah Carey and Steven Tyler.
Diddy
Shows: Making The Band 2-4, I Want To Work For Diddy & P. Diddy's Starmaker
In the most unsurprising turn on this list, Diddy comes out as the hip-hop icon who has the most reality television programs under his belt. While the Making The Band series and Starmaker saw the Bad Boy impresario focusing on discovering new musical acts, I Want To Work For Diddy found him putting his own spin on The Apprentice.
MC Serch
Show: ego trip's The (White) Rapper Show & ego trip's Miss Rap Supreme
Yes, even MC Serch landed himself multiple reality show gigs on the ego trip-created The (White) Rapper Show and Miss Rap Supreme. The first show pit eight Caucasian rappers against each other for the chance to win a $100,000 grand prize, while the second followed the same format, except with women at the forefront.
Riff Raff
Show: From G's To Gents
Before becoming one of rap's most beloved and musically divisive characters, Riff Raff started out as a contestant on Fonzworth Bentley's From G's To Gents. Although the show was short-lived, it did help launch Riff's music career to new heights.
Kid Capri
Show: Master Of The Mix
Like MC Serch before him, the legendary DJ Kid Capri took his individual musical talents to the reality show format with VH1's DJ contest Master Of The Mix. The show also briefly featured Just Blaze as its host; however, the multi-platinum producer left in 2012, while Capri stayed around to continue his judging duties.
Lil Scrappy
Show: Love And Hip-Hop: Atlanta
After nearly half a decade without a proper album, Lil Scrappy resurfaced on Love And Hip-Hop: Atlanta as the fiancee of Erica Dixon, becoming one of the show's biggest stars. Although the TV program hasn't really revived his music career, Love And Hip-Hop: Atlanta served as a reminder to listeners of Scrappy's one-time chart dominance.
Shawty Lo
Show: All My Babies' Mamas
In what might be one of the most misguided moves by any television network ever, the Oxygen network greenlit a reality show highlighting Shawty Lo's 11 children with 10 different mothers earlier this year. All My Babies' Mamas was quickly cancelled over charges of perpetuating negative racial stereotypes.