Joaquin Phoenix the Rapper?

Two-time Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix’s career shift from actor to rapper has been getting a lot of attention, especially after his cringe-worthy appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman (video here) and Ben Stiller’s impersonation of him at the Oscars (video here).  The Letterman fiasco was on par with Norm MacDonald’s train wreck of an appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brian.

It began with a horrible performance at a Las Vegas nightclub called LAVO that ended with him falling off the stage (video here).  Either Joaquin Phoenix has really gone crazy or this is all an elaborate hoax. 

Phoenix is very firm in stating that his venture into hip-hop is not a hoax but there are still some skeptics.  I think he knows exactly what he is doing, and it definitely is working.  He is more talked about than ever.  His latest film, Two Lovers, will probably be more popular because he has said it was his last.

Casey Affleck, Phoenix’s brother in law, is making a documentary about Phoenix’s transition from acting to hip-hop.  According to a source close to Phoenix who spoke with Entertainment Weekly, "He said, 'It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it.'" Another inside source told Fox News "He is selling it all as a documentary not about his musical career but the whole issue of public persona. It’s all a big joke and he’s not pursuing rapping seriously no matter what he says."

There is no way to know for sure if Joaquin is faking or not until after Casey Affleck’s documentary comes out, so we’ll all just have to wait and hope that he is.

For a great interview with Joaquin Phoenix, click here.