I Wanne Be Like T.I.(P)

How many entertainers have uttered the phrase, "I never said I was a role model"? Often this comes after some highly publicized indiscretion or arrest where people cry about how they're not setting a good example. While many shy away from this daunting title, others position themselves to be presented as one and T.I is now one of those artists. After his arrest in October 2007 for attempting to buy machine guns and silencers, T.I has literally been on a road to redemption with his MTV reality, T.I's Road to Redemption, and numerous speaking engagements where he advises young people not to get caught up in the street life. Guess the King of the South is now the King of the Mouth as according to an article from huffingtonpost.com, he's made 262 appearance as of now doing outreach.

A year and change after being arrested for attempting to buy machine guns and silencers at in Atlanta, he was finally sentenced on Friday, March 27th to a year in jail, getting a lesser sentence because of his agreement to perform community surface.

So, here goes: he now has an obligation never to get in trouble again - at least not to the extent where he intentionally does something incredibly illegal as he did last year. I repeat, he must never get in legal trouble again. The sincerity seems genuine and it has to stay that way. Why? Because while it's hit or miss when giving anyone advice, surely he has truly impacted many of the young people he has spoken to and if he somehow gets caught up again after serving his term, his message will be like a VHS tape - gone. I'm staying positive though because he does seem to be sincere in shedding away the mistakes of his past. Let's hope the old him is really dead and gone.




Should anyone consider people who are successful role models for the youth? Not really. Like I said, some people bask in that title and want people to look up to them while others want all the attention but don't want to be seen as anyone's role model. This is probably another blog for another day, but the problem is just because these people are good at one thing in their lives doesn't mean we should expect them not to have problems, drama, or controversy. The sad part is whether they want to be role models or not, many kids do look up to athletes, entertainers and rappers more than those who are business owners, doctors, etc. so because of that the lines do get blurry.

Welcome to Haiti

Sidenote: Title kind of jacked from his independent album release, Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101

Wyclef Jean is one artist that no one can dare say has forgotten where he came from. Many recording artists and entertainers from poor or urban areas get the backhand of their community for not stepping up and giving back once they've reached even a modicum of success. If they are obligated, if they feel a sense of obligation, or if their community is just too damn sensitive and wants a handout is subjective, but Wyclef has never turned his back on his native country, Haiti, that holds the title as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. He's never been into simply proclaiming his Haitian roots or waving a Haitian flag, he's been active for years bringing awareness to the country which sits right next to the Dominican Republic.

Recently, along with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and Former President Bill Clinton, he made a special visit to Haiti, in efforts to bring the plight of Haiti to the forefront. The main goal of the visit is to try to repair the longtime economical instability of Haiti and also to provide some aid to the country still recovering from the aftermath of the deadly hurricanes last year. Apparently, Bill Clinton is no stranger to Haiti as he was very attentive to the issues which plagued the the third world country during his presidential terms.

As for Wyclef, besides, strumming guitars, notoriety from his solo career and his place in the supergroup The Fugees, and keeping us on our toes with eclectic music he's also been very politically conscious and eventually formed Yéle Haiti foundation, to fund the education of Haitian children and partnered up with other foundations to tackle food shoratges, lack of jobs and other related problems.

But on a Wyclef note, here's "Gone Til November Remix" video, with a pre-glamorized Destiny's Child in tow (when Kelly had short hair, when Latoya and Latavia were still in the group, and Beyoncé when she was just "cute".

Favorite Artists Turned Actors

Samuel L. Jackson once turned down a role because he didn't want to play opposite 50 Cent who was the lead character. He felt that it was below him as a serious and established actor to do so. As someone who had early acting roles as a stickup thief in Coming to America (shoutout to McDowells) and a crackhead in Jungle Fever he's experienced firsthand the climb up the ladder by paying dues first with smaller roles. He respects the craft and I'm sure music, but he's one of many who still have that old school opposition to entertainers gliding easier into the film industry than those upcoming actors who struggle for years for work.

Understandable, but some singers/rappers truly are a double threat and when in a film or on TV screen they convince you they deserve to be there as you begin to see them as their character, not what you know them for. (Come on, Tyrese as Jodi, priceless.) Even if you love them you can hate them, or if you hate them you can love them if they play the role right. To be believable, there has to be a combination of drive and that willingness to be vulnerable on screen.

Here are my favorite double threats with a few of my favorite roles from them.

Tupac -I preferred him at his calm introspective states when he wasn't the wild, loose cannon spitting at video cameras and throwing up W's. He's immortalized with his music, but willl always be remembered best on screen as Bishop, the troubled teenager from a dysfunctional home with a "do or die mentality" who felt he had nothing to lose - not even his friends. Bang. Bang.
Juice
Above the Rim
Poetic Justice
Gang Related
His cameo as Picolo on A Different World (yes, only one episode, but one of my favorites nonetheless)


Ice-T - Ice-T is the coolest former rapper turned actor who doesn't have to really sacrifice his everyday swag for movies or the television screen. He still has charisma, but he's not really that versatile of an actor. Ice-T's list of movies he's been in is actually quite long, but he's best known for his current role as Detective Fin in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and as Scotty in the early 90s film, New Jack City.

New Jack City
Law & Order: SVU
New York Undercover (Throwback! He was that trademark ruthless drug dealer. He even ended up killing J.C's fiancee which really made me hate him.
Stealth Fighter



Will Smith - Not even sure he should be on this list; his acting career has completely dominated his recording career when he learned long ago acting was his golden ticket. Yeah, he won the first rap award at The Grammy's, but we know as much as we love Will he's not on any of our top 10 rappers list. In Ali, he garnered a new appreciation for his acting skills by being able to portray a living legend with intensity and believability.
Ali
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Independence Day
Bad Boys
Hitch
Enemy of the State


Ludacris - He's actually an artist I wouldn't mind seeing in more movie roles; he hasn't done numerous roles, but the ones he has portrayed he's convincing. In Crash he wasn't a main character, but he represented that lost, "I'm a victim of the man" mindset. There was also that complexity in terms of him being a product of his environment and how he felt he could do what he wanted because the world owed him something. I love when Terrance Howards character said to him, "you disgust me". (He may have said, "now get out my car, but I don't remember)


Crash
Hustle and Flow
Guest role on Law & Order:Special Victims Unit (very surprised by his performance)

Mos Def - Who would of thought the guy formerly exchanging rhymes with his little brother and sister in the hip-hop group, Urban Thermo Dynamics ( oh yeah, I'm familiar with Manifest Destiny) and later collaborating with Talib Kweli for Blackstar would become known not only for his conscious style rhymes, but for acting as well? STLM, is maybe not my favorite movie he's in, but the fact he steps outside some of his earlier roles for a distinguished mature one that beefed up his acting resume was impressive.

Something the Lord Made
Bamboozled
Brown Sugar
16 Blocks



Ice Cube: We all know how hardcore Ice Cube was, and perhaps deep down maybe he still is, but writing scripts, co-starring alongside George Clooney, starring in family-oriented films (Are We There Yet?) is officially in the safe zone". People can watch his movie and not think N.W.A or West Side Connection. Not to get it twisted, he definitely could still pull off another Friday movie, although I hope he doesn't. My pick is his role as Doughboy in Boyz in the Hood, because gangsta mentality, gun toting, jerry curl, and all, he just wanted to be loved. lol.
Boyz in the Hood
Friday
Barbershop
Anaconda

Andre 3000 - Forgive me, I may be biased. No scratch that - he nailed it in Idlewild. The reserved son of a mortician who eventually broke out of being suppressed musically made for a good storyline with his character. and the scene at the end when his girlfriend is killed and he dresses her up for the funeral like with "She Lives in My Lap", playing? Pure genius.
Idlewild
Four Brothers

Whitney Houston (No matter what Whitney, I'll always love you) Longtime Whitney rumors and substance abuse problems aside, Whitney has always be a strong performer in my eyes. Whether through her vocal strength or through acting there has always been something authentic about her. Or maybe it's a native Jersey thing and I'm just biased. j/k.
The Bodyguard
Waiting to Exhale
The Preacher's Wife



Queen Latifah- She went from this harsh, out with an attitude take no nonsense young female rapper to a woman who has had her own sitcom, daytime talk show, makeup line, and who has appeared alongside many mainstream Hollywood actors. She is Hollywood. For me, the best testament of her talent is how was she so convincing as the hardcore, brash, go get'em and run lesbian, Cleo, in Set it Off. So all other movies aside my pick is Set it Off.

Set it Off
The Bone Collector
Bringing Down the House
Beauty Shop
Living Single



Honorable Mentions:
Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, and Common.
Tyra Banks - Only for her role in Higher Learning and Jackie on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; her small part in Love in Basketball was kind of weak and didn't really have any impact.

Snoop - For Bones, horrible movie, but gets a mention because he portrayed a pimped out drug peddler from the 70s and I love the 70s. Bad movie, but Khalil Kain was in it. And also, Snoop's never portrays anyone deep on screen but his humor and charisma have made way for him to expand beyond just being a rapper.

Janet Jackson - Not good at all in Nutty Professor II, but she was cute as Penny in Good Times and I liked her in Why Did I Get Married?

T.I - I liked ATL and his small role in American Gangster, but I'd like to see more from him.

McNugget Lovin'

I couldn't help myself. So just when I wasn't done shaking my head at the Florida man who called 911 because Burger King ran out of lemonade, comes Latreasa Goodman. Latreasa just wanted some of that McNugget lovin' only to find that the McDonalds was out of McNuggets. I can understand the outrage, I've never encountered that either and I would of been shocked too. However, when she was told she would not receive a refund and had to pick another item off the menu instead of doing what normal/sane people would do which is, I don't know ask to speak to a manager or at the very maximum call the cops (even then is a bit overboard), she dials a 911 dispatcher. In fact, she calls 911 three times!

However, as most of us learned as a kid, calling 911 is no joke. I remember accidentally calling 911 a few times and panicking wondering if they were going to show up at my front door responding to the call. Luckily, that never happened.

When the cops finally showed up she apparently said, "this is an emergency, my McNuggets are an emergency." This woman cannot be serious. I love how calm the operators are on the phone. I know they're trained to do that, but I don't know if I could have contained my laughter. She was later given a misdeameanour citation and this isn't her first experience with 5-0. The Smoking Gun article contains more details and audio of all three 911 calls:
I shouldn't do this because I hate this commercial and it was only really funny the first three times, but here's that infamous McDonalds commercial featuring that guy with the fake R&B song about his girl creepin' on him......with nuggets.