Cornell may not always seem like the hottest place for up-and-coming rappers, but it has plenty of hip-hop history to boast of — not the least of which is True2Life, the trio composed of k. Words ’05, Concise ’05 and Slangston Hughes ’05. The Sun sat down with the crew — who make their own beats — and talked about hawking LPs at RPU, plans for the future and The Pussycat Dolls.

The Sun: How did hip-hop and music play a role in your lives as undergraduates here at Cornell?

A founding member of the legendary hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan, GZA — also known as the Genius and famous for his laid-back drawl; his complex, multi-layered lyrics rife with metaphor and literary illusions; and his now seminal 1995 hip-hop album Liquid Swords, which features samples from classic Samurai films — dropped us a line this week to chat about his creative process, kung fu films and his absolutely favorite past-time: chess.

The Sun: What do you expect from Cornell? In terms of the student body, are you excited?

GZA: Yeah, I’m looking forward to the show.

Sun: What do you think of Girl Talk?

GZA: I don’t really know much about him. I just started learning. He’s the DJ, correct?

Sun: Yeah.

ATLANTA (AP) — Grammy-winning rapper T.I. was arrested Saturday — just hours before he was to take the stage at the BET Hip-Hop Awards — in a shopping center parking lot where federal officials said he planned to pick up machine guns and silencers he had his bodyguard buy for him.

The arrest resulted from an investigation that began this month when a federal firearms dealer contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about a man inquiring about buying a machine gun without registering the weapon as required, according to a criminal complaint filed Saturday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.