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T.I. Pushes Back Against Critics of Rappers Who Pivot to Movies: ‘You’ll Be out Here, Too’

T.I. opened up about rappers pivoting into film and Hollywood during the big boom, with movies like ‘8 Mile’ and ‘ATL’.

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Music and film have always intersected across history. Sometimes, actors have ventured off into music, like Eddie Murphy and Bruce Willis. But more often, musicians have tried their hands at acting. Will Smith got his start as a rapper before becoming one of the biggest movie stars of all time. Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, and Queen Latifah are all established actresses at this point who achieved stardom through music. When 8 Mile came out, though, rappers like Eminem having their own films became a trend. 50 Cent had his own, and T.I. starred in an ode to Atlanta with ATL.

At some point, people started to feel like this was a desperate ploy to get into Hollywood. However, Tip felt like it might’ve been a ploy from studios to try to glean from hip-hop. In a 2006 interview, he argued that people wanted to see them on the big screen. If they have a problem, they should look at the studio.

Given that rap was defining pop culture at the time, it was only natural for the crossover to happen. Moreover, how could you fault any of the rappers for attempting to achieve their Hollywood dreams? How could you expect any of them to turn down a great paycheck, either?

T.I. Reflects on Rappers Getting Into Hollywood

“People want to see us. As much as they respond to us, they can relate. Some of them can relate, and some of them are fascinated by us. For whatever reason, people want to see us, and if people want to see us, there’s a supply and demand in any business that you are in. I don’t care if you see shoes, cars, records, movies; there’s a supply and demand,” T.I. explained.

“If people have a demand to see this person, then I need to be able to supply this person to the demanding audience. That means it’s going to be money in my pocket and butts in them seats. If an actor can do that, great, and if a rapper can do that, great. If a juggling monkey can do that, great. Don’t get mad at us, get mad at the studios,” T.I. continued. “They’re the ones that cut us the big checks to get us on those movies that take your job from you. That ain’t our fault. If someone gave you a check, you’ll be out here too.”

At the end of the day, T.I. loved filming ATL in 2006 and called out anyone who got mad that rappers could sell out theaters. If Terrence Howard could play a rapper in Hustle & Flow with no blowback, why couldn’t rappers dip their toes in the pool?

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