Can todays artists cross over into other endeavors?

A lot of people sleep on Will Smith's rap skills but no one can doubt that he has transformed himself into one of the top actors in Hollywood. In fact it was more than common in the late 90's to see your favorite rappers turn up acting in television or film. LL Cool J and Queen Latifah, both icons who went and held down their own prime time series for several years. Both have made a strong impact