Phoenix: 'My rap career is not a hoax'

Joaquin Phoenix has insisted that his rebirth as a rapper is not a joke.

Speaking to AP, the Walk The Line star confirmed that he was entirely serious when he decided to quit films for music last year.

"There's not a hoax. Might I be ridiculous? Might my career in music be laughable? Yeah, that's possible, but that's certainly not my intention," he said.

Phoenix added that he was baffled by the negative reaction to his debut performance in Las Vegas, saying that he had received a very positive response from fans.

"I don't know who said that people were booing ... because that was not happening....Unless, of course, it's a pretty big place, and maybe it was happening. But it was not my experience.

"My experience afterward was I had a lot of dudes come up and say, 'We really respect you for doing it, putting yourself out there, and going with it.' Because I think true hip-hop heads know that it's hard, it's going to be a hard transition, and people are going to be lining up just to make fun of me."