Actor turned Rapper Joaquin Phoenix performs live (VIDEO)

Joaquin Phoenix made his first public foray into the music world Friday, saying he was ready to put his real self out there and not hide behind movie characters. When Phoenix announced his retirement from acting in October to focus on music I was under the impression he would focus on country or folk music. But he has apparently decided his real ‘musical’ self is a rapper. Phoenix says he’s serious about his new line of work telling PEOPLE:

“After all the years of reading scripts and reading lines, this is my chance to do something straight from the heart and put it out there,” he said. And why hip-hop? “When I was young I liked punk rock music but then I discovered rap. I love the storytelling aspect of hip-hop.” Check out the videos of his live performance at Las Vegas club LAVO, after the break: