Above the Rim, 1994
One of the greatest rappers turned actors, hands down, was the classically trained Tupac Shakur. He had a way that when he popped on the screen, he enveloped the character and brought nuances to the roles that seasoned actors simply could not. Shakur took up the screen and made you forget that he held space with film kinds like Duane Martin, Marlon Wayans, Leon, and Wood Harris.
The film was about a kid from the hood with an ill jump shot who held a golden ticket to get him out of the hood — but the Siren’s of the street kept luring him back into the very toxicity that has claimed so many a great athlete. All draped around an NYC Rucker-like basketball tournament, ‘Pac who played Birdie (the local drug dealer and team host) operated sinisterly — making the film a thriller of a go-see and one of the best urban-centered sports films ever to hit the big screen.