Unlike, say, 50 Cent, who is clearly worth a lot more than that on the open market, rapper Diverse holds true to his name.

"I want what I do to be all-encompassing," he says from his digs in Chicago, shortly before leaving on a national tour. "I like a lot of different music- hip-hop, soul, rock, jazz, funk. I want that all to be in there." Such a sentiment seems hard to find in today's increasingly balkanized world of genre-specific fare. Diverse clearly means to stick to it, though, noting hip-hop chose him early in life.

"I grew up in what many people consider the golden age of hip hop, the early '90s," he explains. "It was all around me. How could I not want to be a part of that?"

Judging from his debut full-length on Chocolate Industries, “One A.M.,” when Diverse talks about the salad days of hip-hop, he's referring to the era of albums by De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. “One A.M.’”s expansive use of jazz and rock elements, combined with Diverse's arty verse all pay homage to the bohemian, intellectual side of hip hop for which the Native Tongue was known.

This isn't to say Diverse merely bites his elders' style. Instead he's bringing his own fresh worldview and personality. Whereas fellow left-fielders Jurassic Five wallow in a tepid bath of nostalgia for funkier days of yore, Diverse is charting a whole new course. With “One A.M.” Diverse has shown the forward movement of hip-hop doesn't have to lie in the hands of pasty backpackers.

An impetus behind Diverse's originality can be found in his background. Instead of free styling in his grade-school cafeteria, dreaming of the day when he would be cold lampin' on stage, young Diverse was writing poems. Citing a fondness for Langston Hughes, Diverse admits to being a poet before he became an MC. Prior to hooking up with Chocolate Industries, he says he never intended to get a record deal, but rather hoped to blur the boundaries between spoken-word and music.

“One A.M.” is much more straight forward than Diverse's earlier efforts with nary an instrumental or free verse to be found. The album does imme¬diately stick out however, thanks to Diverse's bold choice of producers. Such widely differing talents as RJD2, Prefuse 73 and Mad Lib provide beats for this Chicagoan's musings.

It's an approach that pays off. Just listen to the strutting party anthems of RJ sitting next to the fuzzy Prefuse meditations or the boomcentric Mad Lib swinging-each producer makes for a captivating listen. It's also a tac¬tic that could backfire terribly, with each DJ's distinct style fragmenting the album into irreconcilable pieces. Credit is due, however, to Diverse's light, nuanced flow for keeping the music together.

"It was a challenge, but I like working with different formats," Diverse says. "I don't want to have a monotonous routine. I want each song to have what it deserves."

Diverse also experienced a challenge in transforming the intricate, carefully placed syllables of his poetry into the free-for-all rush of an MC rocking the mic.

"I was having some trouble with that for awhile," he remarks. "And then I figured out that I do have some of the same freedoms as a rapper that I do as a poet. I realized that I don't have to rhyme all the time, or that I could have some polyrhythmic scheme. Ultimately, it helped me grow."

Armed with a fantastic new record and a style mixing the avant-garde with gut instincts, Diverse stands poised to become an icon of progress who still connects with the masses. Characteristic of his soft-spoken demeanor, the artist doesn't harbor such grandiose plans.

"I'm digging deeper right now," Diverse says of his upcoming projects. "There aren't as many constraints anymore."