Your Favorite White Boy

Led by Kanye West, artists are crossing over to try their hand in another field. We already have Common and Ludacris on the big screen and Lil Wayne announcing a rock album, so what’s next? Apparently, its misunderstood “retired” actors taking a shot behind the mic. Johnny Cash impersonator Joaquin Phoenix recently decided to step on stage and lay some bars on an adoring crowd, which was captured by his man, Casey Affleck:

For his part, Joaquin has claimed that this is not a spoof, that he actually wants to make a go of it. He may or may not even have a mySpace page.  But let’s assume for a minute that Leaf Joaquin is serious about starting a music career and he wants to become a rapper.  Let’s assume he’s doing it for the right reasons – to push the boundaries of creativity, rather than mocking a culture.  Should we has heads accept him? 

I tend to be a bit of a purist and I really don’t appreciate people who treat rap as a hobby or a temporary project.  But then I have to ask myself how is this any different from Kanye’s foray into autotune-assisted singing?  Is  Kanye any more of a singer than Joaquin is a rapper? They both suck.

How can those who embraced Kanye’s new direction then turn around and condemn dude’s new career choice?  People praised ‘Ye’s effort as a visionary piece of art.  Its difficult to see how that is any different from Jerk Master J grabbing the mic?  I think it will be difficult to crap all over Phoenix, if you jumped up to defend Kanye as a musical genius.

Of course, if you’re like me and never warmed to Heartbreak, then you’ve got the green light to firebomb Joaquin’s half baked efforts to become the next Eminem MC Serch Everlast Vanilla Ice Asher Roth.  He and his cleft pallet can eat a fat one.

Tags: Joaquin Phoenix