HOLLYWOOD -- As if his latest collaborator weren't enough of a shocker, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels is taking her down a surprising path paved by none other than Ugly Kid Joe.

"Me and Sarah McLachlan did a remake of 'Cat's in the Cradle' by Harry Chapin," the Run-DMC rapper said recently of the track famously covered in 1992 by rockers Ugly Kid Joe. "It's awesome."

DMC wrote new verses for his version, the first single from his

upcoming solo album, but he's keeping the details on the down low.

"It's very personal," he said. "It has to do with stuff I'm going through in my life, stuff I found out about. You gotta hear the record."

D was equally coy about the video, yet to be shot. "It's gonna be moving, people gonna cry," he said.

The veteran rapper also worked with the late Jam Master Jay, Kid Rock (see [article id="1471456"]"DMC Laments 50 Cent's Busy Schedule, Preps New Song With Kid Rock"[/article]), DJ Lethal and Napoleon from the Outlawz on the album titled Checks, Thugs, and Rock 'n' Roll. But he considers McLachlan the ultimate get.

"She's like my favorite artist of all time," he said. "Her music

changes people. I called her up and she said yeah. A lot of people in the business be frontin'; they don't call you back. She called me back and we made the record. She's real."

DMC said the long-delayed album is due before spring. However, an Arista Records spokesperson said it wasn't on the release schedule.

The track list has yet to be finalized, but DMC has mentioned a Jam Master Jay tribute called "I'm Missing My Friend" (see [article id="1459042"]"DMC Solo Album Includes Tribute To Jam Master Jay"[/article]) and "Find My Way," a rocker produced by Kid Rock.

"It's the new hip-hop, musically and lyrically," D boasted of his classic-rock-influenced music. "I did the whole rhymes without writing them down, like Jay-Z does, off the top of the head. It's tight."

Along with finishing Checks, Thugs, and Rock 'n' Roll, DMC has been spending time in Hollywood developing a couple of projects, neither of which he'd discuss.

"I don't want anybody to steal it from me, but I got a movie and some cartoons getting ready to drop," he said.