WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Trap.
Summary
There are several real-life singers and rappers in M. Night Shyamalan’s latest horror thriller movieTrap. Josh Hartnett stars as a serial killer disguised as a supportive father inTrap, which also features the feature film debut of Shyamalan’s daughter Salekaas pop singer Lady Raven as a major part ofthe cast ofTrap. Allison Pill plays the wife of Hartnett’s Cooper and the mother of Riley, who is portrayed by Australian actress Ariel Donoghue. Pill’s character Rachel doesn’t appear until later on inTrapafter Cooper reveals himself as the serial killer known as The Butcher backstage after her concert.
Saleka’s Lady Raven sings and performs throughoutTrapat a concert venue where Hartnett’s Cooper is being set up. Most of theoriginal music inTrapwas made specifically by Saleka under her fictional pop star name Lady Raven.Traphas received mixed reviewsupon its July 14, 2025 release but met its opening weekend box office expectations by grossing $15.6 million worldwide. WhileTrapmay not go down as one ofHartnett’s all-time best movies,debuting with a Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 44%, it still has a great chance of being profitable at the box office with its relatively modest production budget.
Trap’sRotten Tomatoes critic score has improved to 53% as of the time of writing with a positive audience score of 65% to go along with it. Despite having a history of up-and-down ratings from critics, Shyamalan movies almost always find a way to make money due to their low costs of production. 2016’sSplitstarring James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy was arguably Shyamalan’s most recent great movie, although 2023’sKnock at the Cabinwas also mostly well-received. Hartnett’s star power is certainly a main draw forTrap, butSaleka Night Shyamalan ends up taking most of the spotlight in her father’s latest film.
5Saleka
Plays Lady Raven
Saleka Night Shyamalan plays Lady Raven in the film but actually has a real-life stage name as the pop singer Saleka. Saleka Shyamalan is one of M. Night Shyamalan’s daughters. Born in 1996, she made her feature film debut inTrap. Her character,Lady Raven, is essentially a fictionalized version of her real-life stage name, Saleka, as a singer and recording artist. Saleka released an entire debut album to accompany the release ofTraptitled LADY RAVEN which features rappers Russ and Kid Cudi, both of whom have roles in the film as sort-of fictionalized versions of themselves.
Saleka also made some of the original music in her father’s Apple seriesServant. Both albums and all of Saleka’s music can be found on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music. Saleka sings and performs all of the songs on her real-life LADY RAVEN album inTrap, ending with the heartfelt piano ballad “Where Did She Go” that she performed just moments before Cooper was exposed to his family as The Butcher.Saleka has much more than just a background singing role inTrapand has the most screen time in the movie after Hartnett, which is impressive for her first-ever acting role.
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4Kid Cudi
Plays The Thinker
Scott Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi, is one of the most successful rappers in the world. His shot to stardom following the release of his 2009 debut albumMan On the Moon: The End of Daywith hit singles such as “Day ‘n’ Nite”, “Soundtrack 2 My Life”, and “Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)".Kid Cudi began acting in 2010 when he appeared as himself inOne Tree Hill. He made his recurring television debut in HBO’sHow to Make It in America(2010-2011) and has since starred in numerous films and series such asNeed for Speed(2014),Westworld(2020),We Are Who We Are(2020),Don’t Look Up(2021), andX(2022).
Kid Cudi also created and starred in the animated Netflix seriesEntergalacticwhich won an Emmy for Best Character Design. He sings and performs as a fictional singer called “The Thinker” inTrapon a song with Saleka/Lady Raven called “Divine”, which features plenty of Cudi’s signature humming. Cudi’s character “The Thinker” is nothing like the real-life Scott Mescudi, who is celebrated for his chill vibe and eccentric personality.The Thinker is a full-blown diva inTrap, yelling at PAs for getting the wrong flavor of kombuchaand making suggestive gestures at Hartnett’s Cooper as he stands backstage with Riley.
Cudi is also a successful film and television producer, having executive producer credits on Mia Goth and Ti West’s celebrated horror series that includesMaXXXine,Pearl, andX. He released two full-length albums,INSANOandINSANO (NITRO MEGA), in early 2024 and recently released the single “DREAMS I SEE” as the first track off his MOON MAN soundtrack for his newly released comic book.Cudi is undoubtedly a Renaissance Man with a wide array and artistic talents. He is set to star in Ursa Major, an upcoming sci-fi thriller alongside Jessica Beal.
3Russ
Plays Parker Wayne
Russell Vitale, best known by his stage name Russ, is another real-life rapper who appears inTrap. He plays a character named Parker Wayne, a fictional pop singer, in his first-ever professional acting role.Russ performs the song “Hiding” with Lady Raven/Saleka in the film, appearing from a hidden platform in the audience which makes the fictional crowd go wild. “Hiding” is currently one of the most popular songs from Saleka’s LADY RAVEN album on Apple Music. The lyrics of “Hiding” center on a back-and-forth between the two singers and their concealed true selves under their larger-than-life personas.
Russ rose to prominence in 2017 with his completely self-produced albumThere’s Really a Wolf, which he wrote, rapped, sang, and composed in its entirety. Many of Russ' most popular tracks came off that album even though he had released three albums before it in 2014. Songs such as “What They Want”, “Losin Control”, “Ride Slow”, and “Cherry Hill” made Russ a global sensation. SinceThere’s Really a Wolf, Russ has released four more albums, with his most recent being 2023’s SANTIAGO. He also just released a single on July 20, 2025, with Jaden titled “WORK OF ART”.Russ is seen backstage inTrapwaving hello to Rileyas she waits for Lady Raven.
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2¿Téo?
Plays Papa’s Boots
As Cooper and Riley enter the concert venue, an opening act named Papa’s Boots plays shortly after at the Lady Raven concert. While Papa’s Boots is a fictional pop group made specifically forTrap, Mateo “¿Téo?” Arias is a real-life pop singer and actor based out of Los Angeles. Arias has been acting for years, getting his start on the Disney XD seriesKickin' Itas one of the main characters Jerry Martinez.Kickin' Itran for 84 episodes across four seasons from 2011 to 2015. His other acting credits include2016’sFirst Girl I Loved, 2016’sGood Kidswhich also stars Nicholas Braun, and 2018’sThe Samuel Project.
Arias also starred in the 2020 American coming-of-age storyBlast Beatas Carly Andresbefore making his appearance inTrap. On the music front, Arias released his debut album¿Téo?in 2018 which has received over 50 million streams on Spotify. ¿Téo?, also referred to as Téo, has worked with massive singers such as Jaden Smith, Post Malone, Lido, Willow Smith, and Kali Uchis.Since 2018, ¿Téo? has released two more albums,Solin 2021 andLunain 2023, the latter of which features his most popular track titled “Magic Hour.” Arias does not have a large role inTrapand only appears in a brief scene performing as Lady Raven’s opening act.
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1Amaarae
Appears on soundtrack
Amaarae does not appear onscreen in M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap but she is featured on the final track of Lady Raven/Saleka’s soundtrack album titled “Pieces”, which plays over the title credits. Amaarae is a Ghanaian-American singer whose first albumTHE ANGEL YOU DON’T KNOWreleased in 2020.Her songSAD GIRLZ LUV MONEYwas her first breakout hitand helped her rise to prominence in the pop music space. Since then she has released two full-length albums, 2023’sFountain Babyand 2024’sroses are red, tears are blue – A Fountain Baby Extended Play. The 30-year-old singer is known for fusing together pop, R&B, and afrobeat music genres.
Amaarae is also featured on two songs on Childish Gambino’s latest and final albumBando Stone and The New World. Donald Glover, who began his musical alter-ego Childish Gambino back in 2011 with his debut albumCamp, announced that he plans to officially retire his Childish Gambino persona. Amaarae appears on “Talk My Sh*t” and “In The Night”, two of the most popular tracks on the album. Amaarae is not an actress and has never made an onscreen appearance before in film or television. Her contribution toTrap’sLADY RAVEN soundtrack, however, is a standout and definitely gives her some well-deserved attention.
Trap
Cast
Trap is a film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures label. The film is part of a deal struck with Warner Bros for him to direct and produce several films under their banner.
