When Famous White Girls Rap

Despite the fact that hip-hop has reverberated throughout the suburbs and mainstream for a couple of decades now, the fact that so many white people love the genre is still jarring to many. Multiply that shock when it's a white girl who goes beyond awkwardly dancing and actually raps along to her favorite MC's lyrics. Even if you're a nobody, that's proven to be viral gold, the attention really goes through the roof when said white girl is famous.

Sarah Palin recently shared her thoughts on Common's invitation to the White House's Poetry Night and stated that she's not "anti-rap" because she knows the words to The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." And just the other day, Penelope Cruz said she likes to rap along to Eminem's "Without Me."

They're not the only white female celebrities who can bust a rhyme. We've gathered up clips of our favorite pop singers, actresses, and television personalities stepping out of their comfort zones to showcase their mic skills. Some of them make us wonder why they haven't put out an album yet while others—well, just stick to your day job. Either way, a white girl who can spit is something we'll always have a place for.

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COMPLEX SAYS: Yup. That's Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman portraying herself as an angry gangsta rapper (with Andy Samberg as her Flavor Flav-esque partner in Viking garb). Natalie raps about cheating at Harvard University while high on marijuana and cocaine. Her enraged rapping in "Natalie's Rap" made this an instant classic on all levels. The female Eminem?

COMPLEX SAYS: You thought you were going to win us over with that super-short school girl dress huh, Kendra? The "Girls Next Door" star and one of Hugh Hefner's three sidechicks appeared on MTV's Celebrity Rap Superstar which featured eight rappers teaching eight celebrities how to perform rap songs. Kendra, who was mentored by Too $hort, took the stage on Week 6 of the show for a horrible off-beat performance of Ludacris' "What's Your Fantasy?" using a lollipop as her microphone. Since the rap thing didn't quite work out for her, she just said, "fuck it" and became Too $hort's background dancer. Good move.

COMPLEX SAYS: When Miley Cyrus deaded her Twitter account in late '09—which was already a big deal to people—she made it an even bigger deal by making a rap about it. Miley explained all of the reasons why she removed herself from the social networking site in a 1 minute and 46 second rap video of her rocking a red baseball cap, leaned to the side, with four background dancers rapping in what looks like the men's bathroom at the local gym. Pretty random. And she's definitely trying a little too hard here.

COMPLEX SAYS: Remember when Paris Hilton dropped her 2006 debut solo album Paris and had a track on there with Fat Joe and Jadakiss? Yeah, you probably don't, but Ms. Hilton definitely had some key rap moments in her career. She rapped a few bars in a freestyle with Snoop Dogg on his MTV variety show Dogg After Dark a few years back. It was pretty obvious she'd borrow Snoop's signature "izzle" flow, but ending it by blurting out "I'm a thug!" was pretty G. Like, she has been to jail after all.

COMPLEX SAYS: The Swedish indie singer did a cover of Rick Ross' "Hustlin'" in front of a pretty lousy crowd where she fused her unique singing style with some drunky dance moves. Either the crowd wasn't feeling it or they just have no clue who Rick Ross is. Lykke Li has also rapped Lil Wayne's "A Milli" and A Tribe Called Quest's "Can I Kick It?" That's why we put her in the magazine.

COMPLEX SAYS: Taylor Swift swagged it out in a fitted cap, white tee, and neck full of jewels in her rap video for "Thug Story" with T-Pain that aired during that year's CMT Awards. We never would have expected this from the country pop singer, but aside from her exceedingly annoying rap voice, T-Swizzle might just be about that life.

COMPLEX SAYS: Our favorite Gossip Girl Michelle Trachtenberg's comfort level was at an all-time high while riding shotgun from a shoot with Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek. Here she is reciting Nicki Minaj's verse from Robin Thicke's "Shakin' It 4 Daddy." She may have seemed a bit shy busting into a laugh every few bars, but it was all worth it hearing her say "pop that pussy."

COMPLEX SAYS: White girls love them some Nicki Minaj. Taylor Swift, who was a little shy during a visit at Nashville's 107.5 The River, requested they play "Super Bass" after mentioning she could rap the song word-for-word. The radio DJ took her up on her word in which she then recited a few bars from the song before stopping to laugh. Selena Gomez on the other hand did it very well with a dance, facial expressions, and all. Play that back!

COMPLEX SAYS: In an interview with Access Hollywood back in '06, Mrs. Paltrow revealed that she was a fan of Jay-Z and that he was her "best friend." Just recently the two exchanged interviews and Gwyneth revealed that she knows N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton word-for-word. Yup, she's been hip-hop. Spitting a few bars from N.W.A's 1988 hit "Gangsta Gangsta" on The Graham Norton Show wasn't a problem.