WORDS BY CLEON ALERT
"Hold up, wasn't he in . . .," is probably along the lines of the reaction most heads will have upon viewing actor-turned-rapper Caffeine on their TV screen. Having pulled off memorable and stellar performances in flicks such as Menace II Society, Tales From the Hood and The Players Club, the South Central Los Angeles native has made quite an impression on moviegoers and has established himself as a serious up-and-comer in Hollywood circles.
But 25-year-old Samuel Monroe Jr.'s success story doesn't start and end with his acting skills. Growing up inspired by the likes of Biz Markie and N.W.A., Caffeine had fully intended to pursue a rap career—way before acting opportunities fell into his lap. And judging from the fine cuisine featured on his forthcoming debut LP Things In The Game Done Changed, hip-hop heads will also come to appreciate the high of Caffeine.
The Source: How did you get into each of your careers?
Caffeine: The acting was a fluke. My stepmama was trying to plug my little brother and sister in the [film] industry. At the time, I had just got of [California] Youth Authority [after a two-and-a-half-year bid for armed robbery] and went over there and started staying with them. Some managers and agents was down there, and I hooked up with 'em; and they started sending me out on calls [and] that hooked up. But I've been doing music, rapping since I was like nine years old, laying up in elementary, beating on the walls, beat-boxing and stuff like that.
The Source: You've had some short but memorable roles in your films. How much of your acting is improvised?
Caffeine: I just like to apply the street feel to what I'm doing. I know how to get inside a nigga's brain. If I got somebody, like one of the niggas on the block, and I got how he acting, I can bring that to film. It wasn't hard to take that element of the street and apply it to film. That's all I do.
The Source: Most people know you from your role in Menace II Society, where you ran out to the car before doing a drive-by on O-Dog and Caine.
Caffeine: That was my first movie. I was nervous as hell, but everything I did in that muthafucka was real. That was a hustler run I did—just looking back and forth trying to see if niggas was in the bushes or [if] the police [was] out in the street.
The Source: A lot of Black actors talk about being stereotyped and pigeonholed into certain types of roles. How do you feel about that?
Caffeine: I'm not tripping, man. Anything I can get, I count it as a blessing, man. I'll just be the Black De Niro. I love the thug roles. If you gonna have somebody play it, play it right.
The Source: What are your feelings on the trend of rappers turning into actors?
Caffeine: I feel that if [acting] is in you, then it's something that you'll always do. It's something that people from the streets have always been doing, but with this [film] industry, it might take you a while to get put on, so not necessarily a lot of people might know that you get down [as an actor].
The Source: "Bloody Horseshoe" seems to be the most personal track on the album. What inspired you to write it?
Caffeine: I just went off a feeling, off a vibe. Just thinking about niggas being held down, like back in the day when they had the Watts Riot [and] when we had the riot out there in, like, '92. It's just the same feeling like the devil riding they back, the devil could actually be you . . . Why you asking yourself "why?" [when] you the one sitting up there getting high or drinking 40's everyday.
The Source: Where were you at during the L.A. riots?
Caffeine: I was right there when it kicked off. My peoples stayed, like right down the street, like on 74th, and it kicked off on Normandie and Florence—that's a few blocks down the street. I watched the dude bust Reginald Denny in the head with the brick and all that. I was like, "God damn, this shit is just wild!"