Is P.M. Dawn's Prince Be the Brian Wilson of Hip-Hop? God only knows

PRINCE BE sits behind the console of a studio in midtown Manhattan. "I am actually aching to stop working," he says with a sigh, leaning back in his chair. Along with a slew of production and remixing gigs (including work with Shara Nelson, Naomi Campbell and Afro-bohemian singer Amber), Be, né Attrell Cordes, and his younger brother, Jarett (aka J.C. the Eternal), have spent the last two years working on their third album, Jesus Wept. To coincide with its release, the brothers Cordes have shot a fashionably psychedelic video for its first single, 'Downtown Venus', a woozy rave-up built around Deep Purple's late '60s hit 'Hush'. While Be works, J.C. is running around Jersey City, NJ., trying to figure out if someone stole his car or if his unpaid parking tickets have finally prompted the sheriffs department to tow the car away.