Summary The Fast & Furious franchise has provided opportunities for rappers and singers to showcase their acting skills and make guest appearances.
Dwayne Johnson and John Cena, both wrestler-turned-actors, have also had music careers on the side.
Grammy-winning musicians like Ludacris, Don Omar, and Cardi B have contributed to the franchise’s soundtracks and made brief cameos in the movies.
The Fast & Furious franchise has launched the acting careers of several rappers and singers while offering memorable guest appearances for other artists. With an ensemble led by Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and the late Paul Walker, the Fast & Furious movies also feature cast members who’ve enjoyed pursuits other than acting. For example, MMA fighter Rhonda Rousey punched her way into an extended cameo in Furious 7, and the movies have also spotlighted former WWE superstars Dwayne Johnson and John Cena.
Interestingly, both Johnson and Cena have had brief music careers on the side, as well. Both wrestler-turned-actors have had rapping credits on WWE-related releases and the soundtracks of their own movies. Even Idris Elba, who played the main villain in the spinoff Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, is an occasional DJ. But many Grammy-winning full-time musicians have also joined the franchise, ranging from Dirty South rapper Ludacris to Puerto Rican reggaeton legend Don Omar. Other popular artists like Ja Rule, MC Jin, and Cardi B have not only contributed to the franchise’s soundtracks but also had brief cameos during the loud and flamboyant street races.
13 Ludacris
In addition to recording some classic Fast & Furious needle drops like “Act a Fool” and “Rest of My Life,” rapper Ludacris plays Tej Parker, the street racer-turned-tech expert of Dom’s crew. In fact, Ludacris was technically introduced in the first Fast & Furious movie when the three-time Grammy-winning song “Area Codes” played in a scene. But it was only in 2 Fast 2 Furious that Tej debuted as Brian’s friend and a high-profile race organizer. Since Fast Five, he has been mostly handling the team’s tech-related issues as a proficient hacker. His friendly rivalry with Roman has endured as a hilarious recurring trope of the franchise.
12 Bow Wow
Bow Wow (or Lil’ Bow Wow as he was formerly known) released his first rap album Beware of Dog when he was just 13. Since then, he has continued rapping and acting in movies like the basketball comedy Like Mike, but his entry in Fast Saga was marked in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, in which he played Twinkie. Acting as the best friend and trusted sidekick of Lucas Black’s protagonist Sean, Twinkie is a cheery, street-smart dealer of car customs in Tokyo. He, along with Black, even reprised his role in F9. In fact, it is Bow Wow’s character who suggests the movie’s outrageous “rocket car” prototype.
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11 Ja Rule
Ja Rule, the Grammy-nominated MC behind hits like “Holla Holla” and “Mesmerize,” portrayed the loudmouthed Los Angeles street racer Edwin in The Fast and the Furious. The first movie in the franchise found the rapper racing alongside Vin Diesel and Paul Walker’s protagonists, expectedly losing out to them despite his boastful claims. Ja Rule never returned to Fast & Furious after this guest appearance even though the sequels did have room for his character. Apart from demanding a higher salary, Ja Rule ultimately found his creative interests clashing 2 Fast 2 Furious director John Singleton reached out to him. And Edwin was never heard of again.
10 Tegui Calderón
Pioneering the reggaeton genre in the early 2000s with his debut album El Abayarde, the Latin Grammy-nominated singer and rapper Tegui Calderón addressed social and moral concerns around the corruption of the Puerto Rican government. Starting with the Fast & Furious short film Los Bandoleros (also singing the title track) and the fourth feature, Fast & Furious, he has also regularly appeared in the franchise as street racer and getaway driver Tego Leo. Usually appearing with fellow Puerto Rican singer Don Omar’s Rico Santos, Calderón’s Tego doesn’t have many speaking parts but his deadpan humor and immense loyalty make him integral to Dom’s crew.
9 Rita Ora
British pop and R&B singer Rita Ora shared an unexpected and uncredited appearance in the sixth installment of the Fast saga. With Dom and the rest of his crew facing off against global terrorist Luke Shaw in London, the X Factor and The Voice UK judge plays a race caller during one of the races in the city. Rita Ora’s Fast & Furious cameo is integral to the plot as she’s the one who announces the race between Dom and his brainwashed partner-turned-rival Letty (Rodriguez). It has been rumored that initially Rihanna was also supposed to feature in Fast & Furious 6, but it was Ora who made the cut.
8 Bad Bunny
Puerto Rican hitmaker Bad Bunny has achieved global airplay for his genre-defying reggaeton and Latin Urbano albums. And while he wrote and performed the single “De Museo” for F9: The Fast Saga, he also had a blink-and-miss cameo in the movie’s flashback sequence. As a younger version of John Cena’s Jakob is being greeted at a street race, Bad Bunny appears on the screen for a brief moment, smiling at him. The uncredited cameo doesn’t show the “Mia,” “Moscow Mulem” and “Caro” singer’s dramatic acting range unlike his performance in Bullet Train, but it serves as an interesting Easter egg for diehard Fast & Furious fans.
7 Iggy Azalea
When it comes to the other rappers featured in Fast & Furious movies, Iggy Azalea’s cameo is not that important to the plot. But considering her contributions to the Furious 7 soundtrack (the song “Go Hard or Go Home” with Wiz Khalifa), it seemed natural for her to also appear briefly in the movie’s opening race. Not only does she wave the flag at the event called “Race Wars” but she also compliments Dom later after he wins the race. However, it’s only ironic that a rapper accused of cultural appropriation and racism (via publications like The Guardian and GQ) is involved in “Race Wars.”
6 T-Pain
The man who arguably brought auto-tune to mainstream popularity in hip-hop and R&B, T-Pain is one of the most iconic figures of 2000s pop culture. While he never got to record a track for any of the Fast & Furious movies, the Grammy-winning singer behind “Low” and “Buy U A Drank” appeared as himself in the fancy Dubai party in Furious 7. T-Pain can be seen DJ-ing at the private party before Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce stops his set midway. The camera is on T-Pain for just over a second, and as his name doesn’t appear in the credits, fans would have discovered his cameo only with a second viewing.
5 Cardi B
Breaking out with her hit single “Bodak Yellow,” Cardi B first established her chart-topping and Grammy-winning success in 2018. Following a supporting role in the Jennifer Lopez-led drama Hustlers, she also had a cameo in F9: The Fast Saga. Cardi B’s character Leysa is revealed to be linked to Dom’s past as a fellow racer and former lover. Their paths cross again in the movie with Leysa now working under the Shaw family matriarch Magdalene Shaw (Helen Mirren). Cardi B’s Fast & Furious cameo was interestingly suggested by Vin Diesel’s daughter Pauline. Diesel revealed this anecdote on Jimmy Kimmel Live, calling Pauline’s suggestion “a great idea.”
4 Tyrese Gibson
Tyrese Gibson appeared in 2 Fast 2 Furious as Brian’s childhood friend Roman Pearce. While the movie didn’t fare well with the critics, Gibson’s talkative partner in crime became a memorable figure for the rest of the franchise. But apart from acting in blockbusters, including Transformers, Gibson has also enjoyed a successful R&B career that started with his debut 1998 album Tyrese. He has earned six Grammy nominations since then with two of them being for Best R&B Album. Performing under just his first name, he also contributed to the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack with “Pick Up The Phone,” a collaboration with Ludacris.
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3 MC Jin
When it comes to Asian representation in mainstream American hip-hop, MC Jin is an influential figure. The rapper, actor, and comedian of Chinese descent became the first Asian-American solo rapper to be signed to a major record deal when he inked a deal with Ruff Ryders Entertainment. Like Ludacris’s Tej and Tyrese’s Roman, Jin appeared in 2 Fast 2 Furious. He played an expert mechanic called Jimmy who even rapped at times to poke fun at his peers. Jin’s charming screen presence made Jimmy a memorable character even if he didn’t appear in the franchise again. Jin also performed “Peel Off” for the movie’s soundtrack.
2 Don Omar
Dubbed “The King of Reggaeton,” Don Omar is largely credited with bringing the genre to global popularity along with artists like Sean Paul and Tegui Calderón. Starting with the Fast & Furious short Los Bandeloros, Omar has played Rico Santos in most of the Fast & Furious movies. Be it devising heist plans or going undercover with his friend Tego Leo, Omar’s Rico is a man of few words but one of the team’s most reliable members. Omar has also lent his vocals and Spanish lyrics to some of the best Fast & Furious songs such as Fast Five’s “Danza Kuduro” and Tokyo Drift’s “Conteo.”
1 Rita Moreno
One of the few people to qualify as an EGOT (Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony) winner, Rita Moreno is a timeless legend, thanks to her musical and acting contributions in movies like West Side Story and The King and I. The Puerto Rican multi-hyphenate lent her vocals to numerous songs in such musicals. As the Fast & Furious family expanded in Fast X, Moreno had a heartwarming role in the movie as Dom’s grandmother. Ironically, it was her grandson Justin Fisher’s suggestion to Vin Diesel that he cast her in the Fast & Furious franchise, just a year after she had a similar role in the 2021 West Side Story remake.