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Will Smith - First hitting the small screen on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith has gone on to become one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. With classic movies like Ali, Independence Day and The Pursuit of Happyness to his credit, he now produces films through his company, Overbrook Entertainment. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Photo By Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

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Mos Def - Although he's been acting professionally longer than he's been rapping, Mos Def's two careers have enhanced each other. With memorable roles in Brown Sugar, The Italian Job and Cadillac Records, Mos is an underdog who makes a lasting impression on film. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images For IMG)

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Ludacris - Luda's critically acclaimed roles in Crash and Hustle & Flow proved that he's a rapper-turned-actor who's going to be around for a while. His latest movie, Fast Five, is in theaters now. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

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Queen Latifah - From Set It Off to Bringing Down the House to Chicago, Queen Latifah always plays roles that are hard to forget. She has also lent her voice to several animated movies and is arguably the most successful female rapper-turned-actor. (Photo: Tony Barton/PictureGroup)

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Ice Cube - Ice Cube has appeared in over 30 films and TV shows and produced close to 20 of them. His most memorable roles are his turns in Boyz N the Hood, Friday, Three Kings and Barbershop. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

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LL Cool J - Action, horror, romantic comedy, suspense—LL has had a wide range of roles in many different film genres. His IMDB page boasts close to 30 film and television credits. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for NAACP Image Awards)

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Ice T - Ironically, the gangster-rapper-turned-actor got his big break playing an undercover cop in New Jack City. He has spent the majority of his acting career since then portraying a detective on the TV show Law & Order. (Photo by Fernando Leon/Getty Images)

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Eve - Making her big-screen debut in Ice Cube's Barbershop, Philly-born rapper Eve has gone on to play over 15 film and TV roles, including her own sitcom. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for The Weinstein Company)

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Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson - Although he essentially played himself in his first couple of roles, since then Curtis Jackson has performed well alongside Hollywood elite like Robert DeNiro. 50's so committed that he even removed some of his tattoos to ensure that his acting career is a long one.  (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for The Weinstein Company)

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Common - The Chicago-born lyricist landed his first film role in 2006's Smokin' Aces and has since appeared in big-screen favorites like American Gangster and Just Wright. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Virgin Unite)

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Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur - These legendary rappers both made a smooth transition from hip hop to Hollywood. With memorable roles in Juice, Poetic Justice and Above The Rim, Pac would have had an amazing film career had he lived longer. Combining TV, film, and cartoons, Snoop's racked up over 50 roles, including in BET Star Cinema favorites The Wash and Baby Boy. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

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Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill has appeared in several television shows but only has one major film role, in Sister Act 2. She's one talent we would love to see on the big screen again.  (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research)

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Eminem - To date Eminem has only had one film role, but his performance in 8 Mile makes him more than worthy of making this list. (Photo: Chris Connor/WENN)