Actor turned Rapper or Rapper turned Actor. Which one came first? The entertainment industry has always been filled with entertainers who have crossed the lines of professions and even genres. In the early days of the industry, entertainers had to have many talents to meet the various needs of the industry. They danced, they acted, and they sang. It was like getting three for the price of one. Think Singing in the Rain with Gene Kelly. Today things aren’t much different. Will Smith has graced both our radiowaves as well as our televison screens and movie theaters along with many other artists. LL Cool J, Mos Def, and Sean Combs to name a few have also crossed over. Afterall, rapping is the art of storytelling so why not also act or vice-a-versa.

Jim Jones, a rapper out of Harlem, is now adding his credentials to the roster. Jim Jones, on the tail of his album release, Pray IV Reign, has embarked on starring in his first play. Hip Hop Monologues: Inside the Life and Mind of Jim Jones, may be the rap industries best legal publicity stunt in a long time. Jones, with the help of Obie winning producer J. Kyle Manzay, will be live on stage for five nights at 37 Arts in Manhattan, New York. Hip Hop Monologues has been compared to Tyler Perry productions and will serve as a vehicle to tell the story behind Jones’s most recent album as well as show another side of the well known rapper.

While Jones may be no Fred Astaire or Tony winner, he is definitely a business man to be reckoned with. If his play, as well as his performance in it, is successful he’ll garner more publicity. If it flops, he’ll garner more publicity for his new album. Either way it’s a win-win situation. So whether he’s a rapper turned actor, or just perpetuating the entertainment industry’s long standing tradition of being diverse is yet to be seen. Either way, Jones is creating rap history, entertainment history, and hopefully for him bolstering his business as well.