On Saturday, Ludacris performed at the NIU Convocation Center, 1525 W. Lincoln Highway. The Weekender was fortunate enough to sit down with the superstar for a quick Q&A.

-Weekender: So why did you come to NIU?

Ludacris: We have a booking agency that books shows for us, and I go wherever they are going to pay me.

W: You worked with Outkast on their new album. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Andre 3000 said he thought hip-hop was dead. What do you think when you hear other artists say it’s dead?

L: I don’t think hip-hop is dead. It changes every day, with the times. I think Andre was saying that nothing out there motivates him.

W: What motivates you as an artist?

L: My other artists, like I-20, Shawnna and Disturbing Tha Peace, they motivate me because they are the hungry ones.

W: Do you like playing for college audiences?

L: College shows are cooler than, say, playing a show for some radio station, because you have a lot more freedom. You usually aren’t under any huge time limit, and they let you try out new things.

W: You were in “2 Fast 2 Furious.” Have you been approached with other acting jobs? And if so, were any of the parts ridiculous?

L: I did “Fast and the Furious,” but I don’t want to forget about my music. It’s my love and just because I am approached with movie parts doesn’t mean I am going to accept them and half-ass my music. I have people who sort through scripts for me and decide what parts are worth my time.

W: Where do you write your music?

L: I drive around in the car with the beat. All my creative juices flow when I’m in the car.

W: What’s the most outrageous thing someone has thrown on stage during a performance?

L: I don’t know, people throw undergarments on stage, some throw weed.

W: What do you do with the weed?

L: We’ll take the weed out of the blunts, check the weed, see if there is anything wrong with it, and sometimes we smoke it.

W: A lot of artists are coming out with clothing lines. Do you have one in the works?

L: Yeah, I am working on a line called C.P. Time, which should be out soon.

And just like that, he’s gone.