If the ability to reinvent yourself is the true hallmark of a superstar, then Prince Paul certainly fits the bill. The Long Island native has gone from being the DJ of the first "hip-hop band," Stetsasonic|, to serving as producer of De La Soul, where he fathered the hip-hop skit. From there, he morphed into a Gravedigger and then dropped his biggest bomb on the industry so far: the hip-hopera.

His bugged-out sense of humor is apparent to anyone who has the chance to catch him live, or on record for that matter. At a recent gig at Chicago's House of Blues, Paul invited would-be models to join him on stage and display their wares. He encouraged them to twirl around, remove their shoes, and generally make an ass of themselves. As usual, there is a method to his madness-it's all part of his latest project: The Handsome Boy Modeling School, which is being released through Tommy Boy. The Source.com caught up with Paul and his gold-toothed partner-in-crime, Dan the Automator, and asked what's next for hip-hop's most mercurial superstar. We assembled some of their more memorable words, which was damn near everything that came out of their mouth.

On the album's release date

Dan: [It's coming out] sometime before we die.

PP: That's about it; he got the right answer. We're hoping the summer sometime.

Dan: August, probably.

PP: There's a lot of politics.

On the content

Dan: It's controversial, you know.

PP: [There's going to be] crack, gangbanging and ho's.

On getting support from the major labels

Dan: They don't like to put money behind [us] sometimes. I don't really understand. This is the last time we'll make one of those super-political, religious records.

On their future projects

PP: Dan has a solo project coming out.

Dan: We're working on this project, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It's us and the Dust Brothers.

PP: That'll be on Dreamworks, and the Handsome Boy (Modeling School) is coming out on Tommy Boy.

On the special guests on the Handsome Boy Modeling School project

Dan: Princess Diana, Notorious Big and Tupac [are appearing].

PP: Sam Kinison, Liberace, David Hasselhoff and Frank Stallone.

Dan: Yeah, Liberace put a nice piece down.

PP: And Brand Nubian; that's about it. Kid Koala and De La Soul.

On working with De La Soul again

PP: I don't know yet. Their album's not done yet, who knows. It all depends on if the group's ready. We have a real cool relationship, so it's like if they want me to [work on their album] fine, if they don't, it's all good.

On longevity

Dan: It's cool. It all panned out. The Lambada came and went. The Macarena came and went, but we're still here.

PP: Go figure.

Dan: When the Millenium comes, we're all gonna die.

PP: I know, man. I guess until people don't want me [to perform] anymore. So far I've been lucky. I've been very fortunate.

Dan: Paul's the greatest man alive.

PP: Yeah, next to 3 Time Dope.

Dan: We are very acknickulous. - Adam Matthews