Imagine 50 Cent in his car singing the words to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" or Lil Jon humming Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why." It sounds kind of weird, but it could happen. You never know what folks listen to when they're driving in their cars or chillin' behind closed doors.
We polled some of hip hop's biggest stars - old and new - and asked them, "What's in your CD player?" Some of the answers might seem a little surprising.
Scarface
"I'm listening to Coldplay - both albums ['Parachute' and 'A Rush of Blood to the Head'] - Bob Marley's 'Legend,' OutKast's new CD and Third Eye Blind."
Baby of Cash Money
"I bump 50 Cent, Mr. Pac, Jay-Z. I listen to a lotta different s--. I go in the store and buy a lotta different CDs, but I never listen to no rock. They gotta lotta new reggae groups in Jamaica now that nobody ever heard of. I listen to that."
Smooth Bee of Nice and Smooth
"I got some new heat - just did a track with Premier called 'Game Over' - so I'm listening to that. That's serious. I try to listen to everybody. I been messing with Staind lately on the rock tip. I like 50 [Cent], of course. I'm an old head. I'm still into the Stylistics. The last CD I purchased was Tupac's greatest hits. I keep 'Pac pumping. That and R. Kelly's joint."
Speech of Arrested Development
"I'm loving Andre 3000's record. I'm listening to Joni Mitchell, some of the classics. I'm listening to Stevie Wonder. I'm listening to a lot of greatest-hits compilations now because they're available on CD. I'm listening to India.Arie. "I think the older stuff is more inspired to me than a lot of the newer stuff I'm hearing right now. That's why I like Andre's record. It feels very inspired, very loose and not contrived, so that is very encouraging."
J-Bo of YoungBloodz
"I like to listen to old-school stuff: Rick James, Prince and new artists like Chingy. I don't have no favorites. If it's jammin', I like it, like OutKast, Gotti. I listen to rap, R&B, rock, pop. If it sounds good, I don't discriminate. You might find anything in my car: some Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock. And I'd love to work with some of these artists someday."
Loon
"I'm currently listening to my album, 'Loon.' I recently bought Ludacris's 'Chicken-N-Beer' because I wanted to see if he could do it again and make this album as good as the last."
T.I.
"The new Juelz Santana album, the new State Property album, the new OutKast album - I like the Andre 3000 side; I ride to that. Of course, old school Jay-Z - second album, third album, 'The Blueprint.' Of course, Biggie, 'Life After Death.' I'm bumping 'Me Against the World,' Isley Brothers, Al Green, Marvin Gaye greatest hits. I got UGK, Scarface, NWA, all kinds of stuff. But what I'm listening to right now is Project Pat."
Murphy Lee
"I'm listening to T.I., Anthony Hamilton and OutKast and, of course, [his own album] 'Murphy's Law' in rotation. All those CDs are off the hook. The CD I was most surprised by was Da Band. That's a good CD."
D-Roc of Ying Yang Twins
"Basically I listen to everything that makes me feel good, because that's how I feel music should be. I jam Erykah Badu, R. Kelly's new one, a whole bunch of different stuff. Not just rap, but a wide variety. When I get home, I've heard Ying Yang so much, I wanna hear everybody else. Sometimes you gotta wind down. "You gotta come with some R&B. It takes the hypeness down because you can't be hype 24-7. I bought three or four Erykah Badus, because every time we go to different states I always end up losing one. I bought a couple of Bubba Sparxxx, Busta Rhymes."
Kaine of Ying Yang Twins
"What's bumping in my car? Anthony Hamilton, Erykah Badu, the new OutKast, the Ying Yang Twins and old-school R&B like Al Green, Isley Brothers, O'Jays, Sam Cooke. I might play some Jimi Hendrix. I'm on everything."
Ludacris
"What I'm ridin' to is all of the DTP [Disturbing tha Peace] stuff, my new album, 'Chicken-N-Beer,' Chingy's 'Jackpot.'"
Skinny Deville of Nappy Roots
"Lately I've been banging the hell out of Anthony Hamilton's new album because I feel it's extremely needed in the R&B world. I listen to Ben Harper quite a bit, OutKast, of course - Dre's side anyway. I haven't really gotten into Big Boi's yet. "I've been going throwback, too, like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, trying to get back to the essence of rock, the essence of music.
"I get tired of hearing rap. It puts me in a small little box. But I like people like Anthony Hamilton because he has been weathering the storm, doing what he loves to do. I know him personally, so I know what he's been through, in a sense, so I have that much more respect for him. Everything he speaks is from the heart and I definitely feel people that speak from the heart."
Bone Crusher
"I just bought the 'Cameosis' album . A lot of people don't know about that one. That was back before Larry Blackmon was the lead singer. I listen to Amerie, old-school Fat Boys, Run-DMC, Poison Clan. I listen to Rachelle Ferrell and Will Downing. I just bought the old Kut Klose album, too, the one with 'I Like' on it."
DMC of Run-DMC
"All I listen to is Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin - I'm like a classic-rock head. I don't even listen to Hot 97 and stations like that. When I'm in New York, it stays on 104.3 and those are records that I can relate to, because they talk about life.
"I just bought Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' - it's the most incredible album I ever heard in my life. I like Bob Seger's 'Turn the Page.' Don't forget about Sarah McLachlan. On my new album, me and Sarah McLachlan got a [track] together. We did a remix of Harry Chapin's 'Cat's in the Cradle.'
"The only rap I listen to is Public Enemy and the Cold Crush because I'm in a constant battle. Rap is a billion-dollar industry, but it seems like the rappers only give out turkeys on Thanksgiving but we're powerful enough to give them out every day. De La Soul has some hits that I love too, but the new record I bought is RZA's record. 'Grits' with Ol' Dirty Bastard on it; that's my favorite rap record right now."
