After reworking a new wave '80s classic for his debut, Refugee camp artist John Forté is reaching back to the Motown roots of hip-hop for his next collaboration with R&B legends the Temptations.

Forté, whose current single, "Ninety-Nine," puts a Wyclef Jean-worthy spin on Nena's "99 Luft Balloons," just finished producing a track called "Stay" for the Motown legends.

"The Temptations are grand," Forté explained to the MTV Radio Network, "in the sense that these guys go on tour 300 days out of the year and get, like, $5,000 a night. They work hard for the money."

Because of his obvious veneration for the Temptations, Forté admits that he was too nervous to work with the group in-person, with his final production work being facilitated by an exchange of tapes.

Forté said, "but I still know that I did a Temptations record and I'm real amped about that." [400k Audio]

Forté, who just released his debut album, "Poly-Sci," will next produce a track for Jamaican danceheall reggae king Shabba Ranks.

• John Forte
• The Temptations