POP MUSIC: ROCK, COUNTRY, R&B;, RAP, LATIN, JAZZ : JAIL BIRD

Brett Kimberlin, like country’s Merle Haggard and rap’s 2Pac, has turned his real-life prison time into songwriting fodder. Kimberlin, you may recall, is the guy who shortly before the 1988 election claimed to have once sold marijuana to vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle.

Serving a 15-year term for drug dealing at the time, Kimberlin said that he was placed into solitary confinement as a result of having made his accusations public and had a planned press conference canceled by government officials. The episode was the subject of a series of “Doonesbury” strips.

Paroled in 1993, the Washington-based Kimberlin, now 40, has been pursuing his lifelong musical ambitions and has recorded an album, “Escape From Hell,” largely inspired by his prison experiences. He says he is currently negotiating with several record companies for a deal to release the album.

“I’m not trying to capitalize on my 15 minutes of fame,” says Kimberlin, who cites PJ Harvey as his top current influence. “I feel I have a lot to say and the best way is through music. My experiences give the music a genuineness.”