Chicago's Diverse dropped well-timed singles with Lyrics Born and Jean Grae before riddling his debut album on Chocolate Industries, “One A.M.,” with crisp and cohesive rhymes that actually mean something. Lyrically, Diverse claims inspiration from old-school stalwarts like Rakim, KRS-One, Public Enemy and De La Soul's Posdnuous. "They were concep¬tual MCs,” he says. "You gathered a great sense of where they were from and what they had experienced from listening to their raps.” We recently asked Diverse what he gets down with in between bumping the classic flavors.

Ani DiFranco: We're at a place musically where people use so many different layers, and everything is so done up and overproduced. Her music has a very raw quality about it and it's minimal. Listening to her sing, you feel like you're in the studio with her, and she doesn't have any inhibitions to what she'll say lyrically.

Greek Food: When I was 14 years old, I started eating Greek food and it turned me out. Now, I eat gyros obsessively, and if you give me some Greek fries and a big container of that tzatziki sauce, I'll tear it up.

Chicago Cubs: My grandmother got me hip to the Cubs. I used to go to her house when I was young and most of our day would consist of sitting around waiting for the Cubs to come on television. It's unfortunate that I'm a Cubs fan because they keep breaking my heart.

Videogames: I get into sports games like NBA Live or Madden. I'm a big Allen Iverson fan-I've been following him since he was playing at Georgetown-so I usually play him, or [in Madden] I'll be Mike Vick from the Atlanta Falcons.

Cooking: My uncle is a gourmet chef-he definitely influenced me in his cooking methods. I have some range. Anything on the seafood dock, I can probably do it justice. I'll kill a beef brisket and some roasted garlic potatoes-time and patience is the key to that one.