Upon hearing that actor-turned-rapper Joaquin Phoenix now has a MySpace page featuring alleged "demos," I instantly had two (fairly obvious) questions:
1) Is this for real?
2) Are the songs any good?
So, first things first: I am about 85 percent sure that the page is a hoax — even though there are photos of a portly, heavily bearded man rapping in a booth on it. From the (very) little I've heard of Phoenix's "rapping," the voice on the songs just doesn't sound like him. It sounds like some crusty white backpacker kid from Florida (I should know, I grew up there). And upon further examination — lo and behold! — it appears that the songs are the work of a pair of DJs (Heart Collapse and LeStereo), one of whom is most definitely from the Sunshine State, both of whom are white and sort of hairy.
Secondly, about the songs themselves: They are not particularly good. "Pacific Dream" (on which "Phoenix" raps something along the lines of "Steam, heat, accentuate, officiate, trick-or-treat/ Accommodate, emancipate, pickled pig's feet") lopes along on an endlessly looped "chimes-and-guitar" sample and a sparse drum track. It is basically Def Jux Lite. "Palisade Nights" is basically the same thing, only a bit spookier and with a drum fill thrown in on occasion. "Everyday" starts off with a vocal sample, gets a bit jazzy and spacey, then gets stuck in neutral with a bass groove that sounds like it was lifted from Radiohead's "The National Anthem" (and a hook featuring some dude wailing, "Every day, I'm taking my last step").
Basically, the whole thing sounds exactly like you'd think it would: crackly, sparse production, overly wordy, nonsensical flow ... it's what happens when amateurish white dudes try their hand at hip-hop. And given that, perhaps this actually is Joaquin Phoenix ...