Rappers turned actors has become such the norm, however you may or may not know, quite a few hip hop stars have also lent their voices to popular video games. Chances are you've played some of these games and didn't recognize their voice.
Let's take a look at ten famous rappers who have done voice overs for video game characters over the years.
Ice Cube in Call of Duty: Black Ops
The rapper played somewhat of a lengthy role in the game's campaign mode until his character's untimely death at the hands of a Russian interrogator. In a 2013 interview alongside Kevin Hart, the rapper turned actor credited Pacman as his favorite video game of all time.
50 Cent in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
In the popular fps game, 50 cent lent his voice to a U.S Navy Seals who appeared in both the game's multiplayer and singleplayer mode as a faceless character. In a 2018 interview with Gamespot, the rapper said he wanted to create a third game.
Snoop Dogg in Def Jam: Fight for New York
In 2004, Snoop Dogg would portray the game's main antagonist Crow in Def Jam: Fight for New York, in what would be arguably his greatest voice over performance.
Crow is a mobster and club owner who's goal is to take over all of his rival D-Mob's New York territory for himself and he believes fear and not respect equals power.
In similar fashion to his first major movie role in the late John singleton's Baby Boy, Snoop plays a fairly dark role that further tests his capabilities as an actor.
Ice T in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Ice-T is one of the first gangsta rap pioneers, so his role in San Andreas as rapper Madd Dogg added to the game's authenticity. Madd Dogg is a 90s rapper whose career falls apart when his rhyme book is stolen by CJ, although they later become allies.
While he isn't featured on the game's soundtrack, Ice-T's stellar acting performance breathes life into Madd Dogg. This wouldn't be his last role in video games either, because he has since gone on to do voice acting work for characters like Aaron Griffin in Gears of War and Balex in Borderlands 3.
The Game in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
The Game was rising to stardom in the west coast hip hop scene when San Andreas was released in 2004. He had been signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath record label, and his debut album, The Documentary, was set to come out only months after San Andreas' release.
That same year The Game ventured into acting, where he would voice "B-Dup", a drug dealer and gangbanger in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Many believed he would reprise his role as the character in GTA 5 due to an interview he did in 2012, where he said "They [Rockstar] called, man, and we did a little bit of work with them," however he was referring his song "Ali Bomaye" which appeared in the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto 5.
Yo-Yo in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Yo-Yo is a rapper and the protégé of Ice Cube, who frequently collaborated with him in the early nineties. She is known for rapping about fighting against sexism in the music industry while advocating for female empowerment. She also made cameo appearances in films such as Boyz n the Hood and Menace II Society.
In 2004, Yo-Yo would be the voice of CJ and Sweet's younger sister Kendl in San Andreas. In a 2019 interview with Hiphopdx, Yo-Yo explained how she landed the role. she said, "I do remember DJ Pooh calling me and telling me about this project he was working on with Rockstar. He was telling me about how it was supposed to blend Hip Hop, various L.A. culture and video games".
Yo-Yo in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Yo-Yo is a rapper and the protégé of Ice Cube, who frequently collaborated with him in the early nineties. She is known for rapping about fighting against sexism in the music industry while advocating for female empowerment. She also made cameo appearances in films such as Boyz n the Hood and Menace II Society.
In 2004, Yo-Yo would be the voice of CJ and Sweet's younger sister Kendl in San Andreas. In a 2019 interview with Hiphopdx, Yo-Yo explained how she landed the role. she said, "I do remember DJ Pooh calling me and telling me about this project he was working on with Rockstar. He was telling me about how it was supposed to blend Hip Hop, various L.A. culture and video games".
Mc Eiht in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
MC Eiht is a West Coast hip-hop legend who co-founded the gangsta rap group Compton's Most Wanted. The rapper ventured into acting in 1993 when he appeared as A-Wax in Menace II Society, but that wouldn't be his only memorable character portrayal.
In 2004's Grand Theft auto's San Andreas, he voiced Grove Street Families member Ryder, whose impulsive nature drives him to betray his long time homies from the set. While Ryder's likeness is clearly influenced by the late Eazy-E, it's MC Eiht's voice that brings the character to life with a powerful and funny delivery.
In 2004's Grand Theft auto's San Andreas, he voiced Grove Street Families member Ryder, whose impulsive nature drives him to betray his long time homies from the set. While Ryder's likeness is clearly influenced by the late Eazy-E, it's MC Eiht's voice that brings the character to life with a powerful and funny delivery.
Xzibit in The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Many people know Xzibit for being a rap veteran, actor and the host of the MTV show's 'Pimp My Ride', though probably not as many people know he also voiced a video game character. In 2004, the rapper would voice the character Abbot in The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, a violent and corrupt senior prison officer.
Tyler the Creator in Grand Theft Auto 5
Tyler the Creator in Grand Theft Auto 5
In 2020, many people just discovered that Tyler The Creator had voiced a random npc in Grand Theft Auto V. Which resulted in fans sharing videos of the rapper and his humorous one-liners on Twitter, seven years after the game's release.
The videos quickly prompted a barrage of questions thrown at Tyler, who finally retweeted one of the videos. It was later revealed that the rapper had initially tweeted that he voiced some random characters in GTA 5, all the way back in 2013.
Logic in The Last of Us Part II
The grammy nominated rapper Logic has always expressed a huge interest in gaming. He even briefly retired from rapping in 2020 and signed an exclusive deal to stream games on Twitch. In a 2014 interview the rapper listed The Last of Us as one of his favorite games of all time.
Which is quite ironic, because about six years later he would land a cameo role in the anticipated sequel, The Last of Us Part II. Near the end of the game, Logic voices one of the Rattlers who catches Ellie in a trap, although his character is killed off fairly quickly.