A Brief History of White People Rapping in Movies

How embarrassed are you?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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In the new A-list-heavy flick The Place Beyond the Pines, all signs point to prestige. Behind the camera, writer-director Derek Cianfrance is coming off of 2010's Blue Valentine, a critical darling that solidified star Ryan Gosling's industry clout and earned Michelle Williams an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In front of the camera, Pines co-star Gosling is joined by recent Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper, and story wise, it's an ambitious three-part drama that'd scream "Awards bait!" is this were, say, November or December.

Throughout The Place Beyond the Pines, Cianfrance goes out of his way to achieve credibility—so what's up with the random moment of white-boy rap that happens during its third act? When co-star Emory Cohen busts a few unfortunate rhymes, Cianfrance's film immediately joins the ranks of other motion pictures, both good and bad, that have, whether intentionally or not, tapped into that universal truth: The sight of white folks rapping will always cause a double take.

Of course, talented lyricists like Eminem have been able to defy the odds, but Dan Aykroyd and Topher Grace? Not so much. For an overview of this often embarrassing phenomenon, have a look at this brief history of white people rapping in movies. And just hope that your melanin-free skin is also thick.

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Written by Tara Aquino (@t_akino), Matt Barone (@MBarone), and Ross Scarano (@RossScarano)

Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks as Sgt. Joe Friday and Det. Pep Streebek in Dragnet (1987)

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Noah Blake and Mandy Ingber as Rhet and Polly in Teen Witch (1989)

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Vanilla Ice as himself in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)

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Kamron as Jamal from House Party 2 (1991)

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Warren Beatty as Senator Jay Bullington Bulworth in Bulworth (1998)

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Ellen Albertini Dow as Rosie in The Wedding Singer (1998)

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Danny Hoch, Dash Mihok, and Mark Webber as Flip, James, and Trevor in Whiteboyz (1999)

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David Herman as Michael Bolton in Office Space (1999)

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Jason Mewes as Jay in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

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Eminem as B-Rabbit in 8 Mile (2002)

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Jamie Kennedy as B-Rad G in Malibu's Most Wanted (2003)

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Leslie Mann as Nicky in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

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Topher Grace and Dan Fogler as Matt and Barry in Take Me Home Tonight (2011)

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Justin Timberlake as Dylan in Friends With Benefits (2011)

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Anna Kendrick as Beca in Pitch Perfect (2012)

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James Franco as Alien in Spring Breakers (2013)

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Emory Cohen as AJ in The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)

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