With the exception of Jay-Z (of course), not many rappers know when it’s time to try and add a three-piece suit to their wardrobe, (and wearing a suit to an award show once in a while doesn’t count). The majority of them still have this “keeping it ‘hood” mentality, and that’s exactly where they end up staying; in the very ‘hood that they love so dearly. B

ut on the other hand, Mr. Shawn Corey Carter can’t take all the credit for setting the trend when it comes to going from the corner to having the corner office.

Plenty of rappers have adopted the “rose growing from the concrete” theory, and it didn’t take a former hustler from Marcy Projects to ignite their fire. Whether you’re a fan of Hip-Hop or not, most likely it still effects you in some way, shape or form. You take your children to see those kid-oriented movies by O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson, Lonnie “Common” Lynn is a major player when it comes to promoting the awareness of AIDS/HIV, and Neluset “Wyclef” Jean is one of the biggest humanitarians the world has ever known.
 
Other rappers who’ve now turned impresario include none other than 50 Cent, Ludacris, and Xzibit. Besides the son of South Jamaica, Queens rubbing elbows with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro for their movie Righteous Kill, the other two afore mentioned have made even bigger strides by getting rid of their trademark look to have more of a global appeal. Almost simultaneously, they both cut off their signature braids and gained access the Hollywood in-crowd.

With the man born as Alvin Joiner landing a role in the latest X-Files flick, to Ludacris chumming it up with the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit—legitimately breaking into the big time would be the most accurate of statements; and further evidence of that came to me this past weekend.
 
Being engulfed by music for literally ninety-nine percent of my week, I decided to head into midtown Manhattan and take in a movie. With my roots originally stretching back to Boston, Massachusetts, I thought it would be appropriate to support another hometown boy in Mark Wahlberg and see Max Payne, (the rendition of the videogame). As the coming attractions ended, and I sat in my seat eating chicken tenders, curly fries, and drinking an over-sized Coke, I read along with the opening credits and the words of; “also starring Chris Bridges” ran across the screen.

From there, the only Chris Bridges that came to mind was the legal name of Ludacris himself—and I relayed that useful bit of information to the female I was with just for added cool points. As the movie went on, Ludacris (known as Chris Bridges for the film’s sake) made his appearance and the whole entire theater was stunned at first, and then began a brief applause segment; I guess they weren’t aware of Ludacris’ government name, and just overlooked it when it flashed in front of their eyes when the movie was beginning. 

After the movie ended, which grossed over 18 million this weekend claiming the top box office spot, it reminded me of an additional film set to be released with Chris “Ludacris” Bridges” having another featured role. The movie is called Rock n Rolla, and it’s directed by Madonna’s soon-to-be ex-husband Guy Ritchie, and stars Jeremy Piven of Entourage and Gerard Butler AKA King Leonidas of the movie 300, (all pictured above).

The movie has already hit theaters in Ritchie’s native of the UK, and landed at number one; with its official US release set to be later on this month. That got me thinking; would the Atlanta-bred rapper be hob-knobbing with Emmy winners and believers of the Kabbalah faith if his hair were still braided or the sometimes out in an Afro? That question will probably never have an answer, because it doesn’t look like he’ll be sitting in between some woman’s legs while she uses a comb with a black fist on the end to do his hair any time soon.