Issue Date: March 4, 2007
An offbeat look at a new release: "The Emperor Jones"
A do-rags-to-riches rap star gives props to the old-school drama about a porter who becomes a vain and ruthless ruler.
"The Emperor Jones," out now, is part of the new box set "Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artist."
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The DVD
Based on Eugene O'Neill's play "The Emperor Jones," this 1933 black-and-white film traces the fall of a venal railway porter, Brutus Jones (the great Paul Robeson), who kills a man in a gambling dispute and then flees to Haiti, where he convinces naive locals that he has superhuman powers before he goes insane with guilt.
Our Insider
Rapper Jim Jones also is a tough guy with a troubled past. Co-founder of the Harlem-based rap group the Diplomats, Jones directs his own videos and serves as director of A&R for Warner Music Group. Like the title character, the rapper has made his fair share of enemies, including peers Jay-Z and Nas.
OVERVIEW "It was a real old-school flick. But I got a strong message out of it, which is, 'Don't abuse the power when you get it.' "
THE NATURE OF EVIL "The Brutus character was foul from the get-go. He had a friend who was trying to help him, but he started snaking him, which wasn't cool. He stole his homeboy's woman. He had a lot of respect at the beginning and then went downhill fast. Brutus reminded me of a couple of rap artists I know, but I'm not going to give up any names." [Laughs.]
HEARING THE N-WORD "The movie was once censored, and now I know why. I couldn't believe they used that language so much. It was heavy. I didn't know how to take it, because I didn't expect that."
THE REAL DEAL "The gambling scenes early on reminded me of a regular ghetto day. When Brutus killed this guy [over a pair of loaded dice], everybody just went back to their dice game and acted like there wasn't even a dead body there. Things haven't changed too much in 75 years -- people mind their own business, and if violence happens, they don't want nothing to do with it." -- Jerry Ross
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