25 notable rapper cameos on TV shows

From 1992 to 1997, Martin Lawrence starred in his comedy TV series properly titled Martin. The Notorious B.I.G appeared in season four in the episode “Blow, Baby, Blow.” In the episode, B.I.G. comes to town to appear on Martin's talk show and hold auditions for background singers. Naturally, Martin’s friends and neighbors are trying to impress the rapper. 

The Power series on Starz has become one of the network’s most popular shows within the last few years. Kendrick Lamar surprised fans with his acting debut on a season five episode. Lamar plays a character named Laces, a homeless addict who tries to sell random items to make a few dollars. 

Crime dramas are quite popular with television audiences. It’s part of the reason why Hawaii Five-0 ran for ten seasons. In 2010, Nas appeared on an episode as Gordon Smith, a repeat offender who violated his parole.

The Adventures of Pete & Pete was a comedy airing on Nickelodeon from 1993 to 1996. The show followed the daily lives seen through the eyes of two brothers named Pete. LL Cool J appeared in season two on the episode “Sick Day.” In the episode, little Pete fakes having an illness so he can miss school for at least two days. LL Cool J plays the school principal, Mr. Throneberry, who makes a secret-coded announcement that the school won’t have to deal with Pete that day (much to their relief).

Jamie Foxx is arguably one of the most talented multi-hyphenates in Hollywood. His comedy TV show, The Jamie Foxx Show, ran from 1996 to 2001. In 2000, Method Man and Redman played themselves in an episode. The rappers end up putting Jamie in an uncomfortable bind because they are both interested in his friend and co-worker, Nicole. 

One of the coolest things about Queen Latifah appearing on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is that she played two characters in different episodes. On her first appearance, she played the character of a bossy actress named Marissa Redman. While in her second appearance, she played the role of Dee Dee Williams, Will’s blind date, who eventually became good friends with him. 

Steve Harvey played the character of Steve Hightower on his comedy sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show. Hightower is a soul and funk legend who’s now a music teacher at a high school. Diddy and Snoop Dogg appeared on an episode as themselves who wanted to sample some of Hightower’s old music. In addition to that, they got the chance to talk to Hightower's students to calm down all the noise about the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry. 

NCIS: Los Angeles is a crime drama in which trained agents go undercover to catch criminals who are a national threat. In 2020, Offset made his acting debut as undercover CIA agent Kadri Kasha Khan, who monitors threatening activity. Offset had the chance to work alongside NCIS star and fellow rapper LL Cool J, not too shabby for his first acting gig.

Grown-ish has come to an end with season six, but the show is going out with a bang by bringing on a few celebrities for cameo appearances. Latto made her acting debut in a few episodes, playing Sloane, a wine sales representative. In addition to her role in bringing new wines to her clients, she also starts dating one of the lead characters, Doug, played by Diggy Simmons. 

Magic City was a two-season show that told the story of a 1950s hotel owner who got into a bad deal with a mob boss. Rick Ross often raps about being a boss, and he had the chance to portray a kingpin as a character named Butterball. 

Diddy appeared on two episodes of season seven of the crime drama CSI: Miami. In both episodes, Diddy plays Derek Powell, a defense attorney who gets targeted at a yacht party. 

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a police comedy series that aired on Fox and NBC for eight seasons. Kid Cudi appeared in season one as Dustin Whitman, a man suspected of robbing a jewelry store. Although the cop who arrested Whitman didn’t have sufficient evidence at the time of the arrest, he had to show some evidence within 48 hours, or else Whitman would be released. 

Before his life was cut tragically short, Tupac was not only one of the biggest rappers in the world, but he was also showing his acting chops in films and TV shows. In 1993, Tupac appeared on A Different World, playing Piccolo, the ex-boyfriend of Lena (played by Jada Pinkett-Smith). Piccolo is trying to get Lena back, but she realizes she’s outgrown him and her hometown friends.

Kanye West appeared on the “No Cannes Do” episode of the HBO sitcom Entourage. In the episode, star character Vinnie Chase and his crew are trying to fly to Cannes for a movie premiere, but their plans are delayed due to a security threat at LAX. West enters the scene, and one of Vinnie’s friends asks the rapper to ride on his private jet to Cannes. West is hesitant initially but agrees they can all fly on his jet. Also, the scene ends with West’s “Good Life” single playing in the background.  

Martin Lawrence was known to play several characters on his television show Martin, including his neighbor Sheneneh. In one episode, Kid from the hip-hop duo Kid N’ Play goes on Martin’s radio show to hold a contest that gives a lucky winner a date with him. Sheneneh ends up winning the contest, and when Kid comes to her house for the date, she tries to seduce him. 

Like other artists who were guests on The Steve Harvey Show, Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri appeared as themselves to sample music from Steve Hightower’s (Steve Harvey) group, the Hi-Tops. Hightower gets caught bad-mouthing Bow Wow, so he changes his mind about using the sample. The group makes Hightower apologize to Bow Wow, and the rapper ends up making the track. 

Although Will Smith became a rapper-turned-actor thanks to his starring role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a number of other celebrities made guest appearances on his show. Heavy D appeared on the show twice as himself, the first time giving cooking pointers to Bo Jackson and the second time as a concert performer. 

One of the most popular crime drama series is Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Ludacris may be well known for his acting chops in the Fast & Furious movie franchise, but he’s also dabbled into the small screen. He appeared on SVU as Darius Parker, a character on trial for assault and homicide. 

Lil' Kim appeared as herself on the CW series The Game in an episode titled “Media Blitz.” On the episode, Kim invites Malik (played by Hosea Chanchez) to appear in her music video for the song “Chillin Tonight.” 

House M.D. is a medical drama that aired on Fox for eight seasons. In season five, Mos Def appeared in an episode as Lee, a medical patient who had a bicycle accident and is now a victim of locked-in syndrome. 

Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Eddie Griffin starred in the UPN comedy series Malcolm & Eddie, a show that ran from 1996 to 2000. In 1999, Coolio appeared on an episode as Troy Jensen, a contractor who consults Malcolm and Eddie about building a club. 

Oz is a prison drama series that aired on HBO for six seasons. Master P appeared in an episode as the character Curtis Bennett, an inmate who starts trouble with a fellow inmate, Vern Schillinger. Bennett alleges that Schillinger’s granddaughter Jewel may not be biologically his due to his son being a pimp, but Schillinger eventually learns the truth.

Xzibit appeared in the episode “Rap Sheet” from season two of the crime drama CSI: Miami. His character as rapper 10-Large is performing at a concert when shots ring out, and unfortunately, his bodyguard gets fatally hit. While 10-Large also gets wounded, he doesn’t want to talk to investigators about why he would be a potential target. 

In 2007, Snoop Dogg appeared on Monk as a rapper named Murderuss. In the episode, Murderess is a homicide suspect who contacts Monk to help clear his name of any crime. Monk helped find the right culprit, and Murderess was cleared of all wrongdoing. 

In 1997, hip-hop supergroup Westside Connection, known as Ice Cube, Mack10, and WC, appeared on The Jamie Foxx Show. In the episode, Westside Connection comes into Jamie King’s (Foxx) hotel to book a few rooms and the ballroom for a party. Granted, chaos ensues when they bring a huge entourage to the hotel, and the party gets a little out of hand.