UK rappers who turned to film: From Stormzy to Ashley Walters
17 June 2025, 14:17
The UK Rap scene has never seen so many rappers trade in the mic for the camera, with releases like ‘Top Boy’, to the latest premiere of Stormzy’s ‘Big Man’ – here is your complete list of which rappers are now popping up on film screens.
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The worlds of music and film often cross over in the form of a legendary soundtrack, but over recent years, there has been a surge of established rappers trying their hand at being in front of the camera, in a different manner.
It could be deemed as a money-grab by some haters, but lots of these rappers are championing the British scene and uplifting the culture on a global scale.
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With the premiere of Top Boy, we saw a great deal of representation for the UK rap scene spotlighting some of our most talented.
Whilst American rappers like Ice Cube, Ludacris, and Queen Latifah are now known by younger generations as being solely actors, let’s take a look at some of the British counterparts that could have the same description in the coming decade.
Ashley Walters
Ashley Walters is most recognisable because of his recent award-winning and legislative-changing performance in Netflix’s Adolescence.
However, before the critically acclaimed actor Ashley Walters, there was the So Solid Crew, Asher D…two very different people!
As a musician, Ashley formed one of the members of the garage and hip-hop collective, So Solid Crew, debuting way back in 2001, almost 25 years ago.
With the hit ’21 Seconds’, Asher D is ingrained into British culture and it’s still being played back-to-back in clubs to this day; simply iconic.
Then came the star’s arguably bigger acting career.With successful and iconic work like Top Boy, Life and Lyrics, and Adolescence in his discography, he is officially a movie star.
Ashley is certainly going to be a face that we will get used to.
Stormzy
Now, who many would call King of UK Grime, the British icon himself, Stormzy.
With an iconic music discography, this rapper has championed the UK Rap scene for the past decade, winning over 35 awards for his musical talents.
But let us not forget the ever-diversifying career of the ‘Shut Up’ rapper, starring in a fair few productions over the last few years.He has been in the hit sitcom, Chewing Gum, as well as the film Brotherhood.
Big Mike actually also owns his own film-production house, Merky Films, so perhaps we are set for an entirely producer, director, and acting role from Big Stormz.
He is also set to be in the upcoming Apple film, Big Man, shot entirely on iPhone!
Scorcher
Known largely as an English MC and grime rapper, with tunes like ‘No One Else’ and ‘My Diary’, Scorcher has now starred in enough film and TV productions that Google categorises him as an actor!
Another UK rap star featured in the hit Top Boy, he has a very recognisable acting profile, and is sure to continue his path as an actor…perhaps leaving music behind.
From Offender to Mangrove, he’s starred in over 5 successful projects.
With him not dropping any new music since 2021, could Scorcher be the next rapper set to be known solely as an actor in the coming years?
Bashy
Bashy, a 40-year-old grime rapper and actor, has officially made the jump from his musical career to the film industry.
Attending THE Brit School back when he was 16, he left full of creativity and multi-talented.
On his first album, released in 2010, he had big stars like Wretch32 and Jamelia on it, showing how much of a talent he has always been viewed as.
This rapper initially broke out in acting, though, the same year as his album, in the 2010 film Shank, and has gone on to be in shows and films Top Boy, The Night Of, and Them.
Most recently, he was nominated for a Royal Television Society award for Breakthrough Talent in 2024.
There are quite a few more UK rappers who have dabbled in the film world, and there are sure to be many more who turn to the screen to further show off their talents.
Notable mentions are rappers Dave, Ghetts, Little Simz and Kano, who are now recognisable to a bigger audience because of their acting roles.
It is clear the UK rap scene has a lot of talent, and these rappers are taking that scene to a global stage to show the world just how talented we Brits can be!
