The most eye-catching modification on Antwan “Big Boi” Patton’s sleek 2007 Buick Lucerne is the luxurious suede interior, all juiced up with purple suede inserts and headliner, setting off custom headrests emblazoned with the skull-and-crossbones logo of Purple Ribbon Records.

Occasionally, things slow down in moneymaking Manhattan, New York. Off the beaten path, a mouthwatering six-figure whip is conspicuously parked on Harlem’s west side, where the traffic is clear and life slows down…for a minute.

It’s another sunny, 74-degree afternoon in Los Angeles and casa Wentz is abuzz with activity. “I woke up to cameras,” Fall Out Boy’s bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz says, referring to the MTV crew encamped at his Hollywood Hills home, shooting an episode of “MTV Cribs.” Add a comment

Admit it. When the first few beats of Tical (Def Jam, 1994) hit your eardrums, you knew you were listening to something special…no, outstanding. Wu-Tang Clan’s untouchable debut, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Loud/RCA, 1993), set the bar high for anything that might originate from the Wu camp... Add a comment

One of the strengths of the Wu-Tang Clan is the individual talents of each member of the collective, of which Ghostface Killah (aka Tony Starks and Ironman) has been deemed by many as the most consistent, with such hits as Ironman (Razor Sharp/Epic, 1996), Supreme Clientele (Razor Sharp/Epic, 2000), The Pretty Toney Album (Def Jam, 2004), and more recently, Fishscale (Def Jam, 2006) and More Fish (Def Jam, 2006).

Amerie sparked a worldwide love affair when she asked, “Why Don’t We Fall in Love?” in 2002, and she has kept it flowing through the years. This spring, she released her third album, Because I Love It (Sony Urban/Columbia, 2007), which promised to bring more banging grooves like her notorious body-moving “1 Thing,” from her sophomore album Touch (Sony Urban/Columbia, 2005).

In November of 1993, while mainstream hip-hop was in its infancy and the genre was still defining itself, a young group from Cleveland, Ohio dreamed of hitting the big time. Like countless aspiring rappers, these ambitious Clevelanders idolized the hard-edged beats of Eazy-E and N.W.A. But because they were separated by almost 2,400 miles of country, the suburbs of Compton (arguably the cultural epicenter of gangsta rap) seemed like the other side of the world, a promised land of booze, women and weed, where the best and the brightest gathered to create the musical climate from scratch.

Is there life after a reality TV shows you ask? There sure is… just ask the five show-stopping hotties from Danity Kane who proved to non-believers that they are more than just your average novelty act and are in this business for the long-term.

Travis Barker is more than simply a collector of Cadillac steel. Surrounded by a museum’s-worth of vintage Cadis (and a Buick!), you can almost call him a curator. Barker’s love for Cadillac even extends to paying homage to the automotive brand with a tattoo proudly etched on his chest.

Since the age of 14, Bow Wow (born Shad Gregory Moss) has been no stranger to success, playing lead roles in “Like Mike” (Fox, 2002), “Johnson Family Vacation” (Fox, 2004) and “Roll Bounce” (Fox, 2005), and most recently co-starring in the cult hit “The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift” (Universal, 2006).