By: Scott Steinberg

Some know him from CDs and countless mixtape appearances, where he's gone by aliases ranging from "Daddy Fat Sacks" to "General Patton." (Even if they're only half as clever as most of those currently making the rounds on Xbox Live: What up NuTBuST3R and AzzHat69?)
Others, courtesy of starring appearances in films Idlewild, ATL and Who's Your Caddy? Still more as: "Hey, aren't you that other guy from Outkast... can I get Andre's autograph?"

Call him what you will though: Chart-topping rapper/producer Big Boi, renowned for classic albums like ATLiens, Speakerboxx and Stankonia, isn't just one of hip-hop's most talented acts. He's also an avowed gamer keen on kicking blinged-out ass as a playable brawler in EA's upcoming rags-to-bitches rap industry brawler Def Jam: Icon. We recently caught up with the Dirty South legend so he could drop a little science on our lily-white asses, in-between flying elbows and spinning clotheslines:

Q: What's up with you and videogames: From cartoons to movies and self-run record labels, you don't have enough side projects going on already?

A: Yeah, man, I was asked to do the Def Jam: Icon game over a year ago. I had experience with the first two, and I was like yo, let's do it. So they came down and scanned me and I got my special moves, then came back and did my voice-overs for story mode. I've actually been playing the game all day today - it looks great.

Q: Seriously - you don't keep busy enough without this shit?

A: Yeah man, it's a lot we got on the plate. I'm just finishing up a movie - Who's Your Caddy? - and now working on a solo record, finishing song titles, laying down cuts and things for that. Def Jam: Icon's gonna be a good addition to the collection, and my kids are getting a real big kick out of it more than anybody.

Q: So you're a big videogame head, eh?

A: Oh yeah, most definitely. When you're out here on the road, on the tour bus, you know that's all you do: Just listen to music and play games. I've been gaming since I was like, you know, very young - Atari days.

Q: Atari, huh? That's pretty dope, grandpa! But given all the hype, what system are you feeling today: PlayStation 3, Wii or Xbox 360?

A: Well, actually I'm a PlayStation man. I played the hell out of PlayStation 2, and I'm looking for a PlayStation 3 right now. I ain't got a chance to play the Wii yet, but I ain't gonna lie, I got a 360 as well. I try not to play favorites too much cause they all got sick games for them...

Q: Oh, please. Stop being a pansy and call a spade a spade: You must have some sense of who's going to come out on top of the console wars...

A: Man, you really can't tell at this point - the Wii and PlayStation 3 ain't had enough time to establish themselves, they just came out. If I had to pick a personal favorite though, I'm going with PlayStation - I've been playing that since the jump.

Q: Any favorite titles you like to play in the off hours: Maybe Hello Kitty Roller Rescue, Snoopy vs. the Red Baron... hell, even some Pokemon?

A: Naw, mane... It's all about a little Madden 07. I'm the reigning champ - I'll put a little ass whoopin' down on anybody who want some.

Q: Speaking of ass whoopings, you put some serious ones down in Def Jam: Icon. Are you really that violent in real life?

A: Nah, unless I'm made to be that mean, you know. I'm a really cool guy, I'm all about positive vibrations. You don't fuck with me, I don't fuck with you. But when it's time to kick some ass, I won't lie - I'll bring that old whooping stick out.

Q: What do you think of your character in the game - he got some moves on him, or what?

A: Oh hell yeah, he's great. It looks just like me right down from the tattoos on my neck to some jeans, t-shirts and Nike boots. That's ass whooping material, and he just come out swinging, you know. He'll split your dome.

Q: There are a lot of rappers in the game who might be known for talking a little shit now and then. Anyone's ass you especially want to beat?

A: No, no, no... I got love for everybody, man. But all their asses is going down, you can count on that. I'm cool and all, but when it comes to gaming, I'm all about me - I gotta come out on top, you know?

Q: Mind sharing some advice on how people who pick your character can play you best or most authentically?

A: You just gotta come out fast and furious, you know, man? You can't come out half-steppin'. The game is, like, so detailed from every move to when a player gets struck, and their facial expressions change and how they look, you really just gotta smack first, ask questions later. My character's a tough cat, so you just gotta come wit it, hey-ey-yay!

Q: If you had to pick a few fellow rappers/fighters to back you up in the game, they'd be?

A: I'd probably get Ludacris, TI and Lil' Jon. We all from Atlanta, you know what I'm saying? We just trying to keep that Dirty South thing going.

Q: We hear ya - it's definitely been a good year for the region. Why's there been so much interest in the South lately anyway?

A: It's the sound right now, man, you know - people just want to hear something different and something new, and the South is providing that for the world right now. Just like we gonna flip shit up in this new Def Jam: It's a straight takeover. People can't hate on that: In games or on the charts, right now, we're the ones who've got the ball.

Q: Any other games besides Def Jam: Icon you'd love to give a shout out too?

A: Aw man, I gotta call out Bully. I loooove that game. I started playing it a couple weeks ago, and it's tight - you're a private school kid in this boarding school, gotta run jobs, make money and shit. It's like an adventure game kinda sorta, and I'm down with that. It's not what I'd usually play, but it's funny as hell, you know?

Q: Ever play any of the other hip-hop games that've come out before: 187, Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, Getting Up or Saint's Row...?

A: Heh, I ain't want to, man, you heard? I stick with the best. I played that Def Jam game and that was it - I wasn't hearing anything else.

Q: Are you glad you're finally getting a shot at digital stardom?

A: Oh yeah, man, yeah. You know, my main thing has always been music, so when it's time to come and branch out and trying something new that'll get people's attention, I just try to come and do my best.

Q: Hip-hop and games go way back, long before the Def Jam titles though... what's up with that?

A: It's just a part of the culture. From having different soundtracks playing behind you when you jamming on NBA Live or them Grand Theft Autos to now integrating everything in Def Jam: Icon, it's just a natural evolution. In Def Jam: Icon, you have it to where the surroundings behind you are interactive: manhole covers, gas pumps, cop cars, helicopters... you can use those as weapons. It's just real fun, man, a way to escape that just make sense in the context.

Q: I hear the backgrounds bump to the beat as you fight?

A: Man, that shit is the dopest shit about the game, you know what I mean? You can hook your iPod up to it and the game moves to that, if you playing Anita Baker or Johnny Cash or whatever your preference is. They did a great job of designing that.

Q: Make any contributions to its musical repertoire?

A: Yeah, I got like three songs on there. I got Kryptonite, and another song called What's that Smell, and another song called DDT. DDT and What's that Smell are two original compositions too. The best part when you're making them is that it's for a fighting game, so you can say whatever you want to say, and beats hit hard, so you know the background's going to jump to the 808.

Q: Last, but not least, let's say somebody were to step to you in real life - are you going to bring the heat like you do here in this game, or let the bodyguards handle it?

A: Naw, if anybody mess with me, I'ma slap the shit out of him. For real... as long as he alone. My secret move is the backhanded bitch-slap, closed-fist...