Men, Money & Gold Diggers

I recently saw a play called Men, Money & Gold Diggers by Je’Caryous Johnson. Je’Caryous is one half of the I’m Ready Productions company that is known not only for adapting best selling books by authors like Eric Jerome Dickey and Michael Baisden into stage productions, but also recruiting an all-star cast. The last play that I went to see, Cheaters, based on Dickey’s novel, starred my all-time favorite Brian McKnight. And this play didn’t disappoint either.

Now, you’re probably wondering why I’m putting this on my music blog. Although the play was INCREDIBLE, I thought I’d take this opportunity to highlight the musicians that are part of the cast.

The first is Chico Benymon. Now you’re probably saying to yourself “He’s not a musician. He’s an actor famous for his role on UPN’s Half & Half.” Well, actually, he’s both. I could tell that Chico felt right at home playing his role in the play as an aspiring musical artist. For those of you who don’t know, in addition to his acting career, Benymon is also a member of the R&B group Tra-Knox. They were discovered by Will Smith, and you’ve probably heard them on the soundtracks for Men in Black and on some of Will’s work.

Someone else that was announced as part of the cast was Ginuine. So, like many of the other ladies (and probably a few men too) I was looking forward to seeing him. Well to my surprise, he didn’t do any acting in the play. All he did was come out and sing "In Those Jeans" at the end of the show. I’m still trying to figure that one out... I know he can’t be that hard up that he has to travel with the play to sing one song a night…

And last but not least is Tank. Yes, it’s true. He hasn’t fallen of the face of the Earth. Ironically, I recently found out that Tank actually got his start in the business singing backup for Ginuine and Aaliyah. He then became popular with a couple of singles of his own, including “Maybe I Deserve” five or six years ago. I must say that this is a multi-talented man. He can sing, he can act, and he produces. Some of the artists that he’s worked with include Jamie Foxx, Monica, and Marques Houston.

The entire cast in this play was great, and I definitely recommend that everyone check it out if it's coming to a city near them!