Rapper Jim Jones talks theatrical venture

NEW YORK - Jim Jones is starting a new movement in hip-hop, or at least trying to.

The 32-year-old recently starred in "Hip-Hop Monologues: Inside the Life and Mind of Jim Jones," an off-Broadway play which chronicles the rapper's life on the road and on the streets.

But don't think Jones did it for the love of theater. Jones says making money is what pushed him onstage.

"I'm not one of the people who say I do things for the craft of it," Jones said in a recent interview.

"Even though when I get on camera you think that (I'm) a crafty individual, but I'm all about the money and whatever it takes for me to get that money, I'm going to master that," he said.

Jones, who released his fourth album "Pray IV Reign" the same week he starred in "Hip-Hop Monologues," says he hopes rappers will look at Broadway as another career path.

"I should hope I've created a new lane for rappers who are woody enough to complete a task like this to go into a whole other form of revenue," he said.

"Hip-Hop Monologues" follows Jones' life _ including his role in rap group The Diplomats, the birth of his son, his issues with women and sex, and his life on the streets of Harlem, N.Y.

The play, which was featured at New York's 37 Arts Theater last month, was directed by J. Kyle Manzay, who's appeared in movies including "American Gangster," "Brother to Brother" and "Little Manhattan."

On the Net:

http://www.jimjonesofficial.com

A service of the Associated Press(AP)