Hip-hop star Xzibit knows a thing or two about turning lemons into lemonade. He's widely known as the host of MTV's Pimp My Ride, in which hum-drum vehicles are souped up and become the envy of a national viewing audience.

But this Sunday night on ABC, Xzibit goes from pimping rides to making dreams come true. This season, the massive hit Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is tapping celebrity volunteers to pitch in for its one-week house building whirlwinds. Xzibit, a native of Detroit, hit Connecticut with Ty Pennington and his crew to help the Hill family.

Xzibit called WalletPop by Skype, and Jason Cochran was there to talk to the recording star live in his home (check out the gold record behind him!) to find out why such a star is spending his time shoveling dirt and slogging through flooded basements, and if he really did the backbreaking work on EM:HE, or if it was just for the cameras.



The economy has been particularly brutal for the Hills, and in their effort to stay a step ahead of homeless shelters and soup kitchens, 13 assorted members, some of them cousins, cram into a house designed for fewer than half their number.

The basement is swamped and the closet has been turned into a makeshift bathroom, still the Hills remain optimistic. But when Xzibit shows up on the bus, the Hills' excitement is uncontainable, and they come barreling from their little house in an explosive celebration for redemption unlike any seen on the show so far. He learned in an instant why it's so important to make a difference these days.