Pop Quiz: Isaac Hayes

Pop Quiz: Isaac Hayes

Aidin Vaziri | The new double-disc set "Ultimate Isaac Hayes: Can You Dig It?" covers soul man Isaac Hayes' fertile run at Stax Records from 1969 through 1975, which resulted in classic albums such as "Hot Buttered Soul," "Black Moses" and the "Shaft" soundtrack. But most people now know Hayes best as the mellow voice of Chef on Comedy Central's morality-testing animated show "South Park." So, along with the singer's seminal wah-wah guitar versions of tracks such as "Theme From 'Shaft' " and "Walk On By," a bonus DVD includes the video for the less-than-savory "Chocolate Salty Balls." How did this happen?

Isaac Hayes
Q: This album covers all the classics but there's also one more recent song on the DVD.
A: Yeah, "Chocolate Salty Balls."
Q: From "South Park." I have a question about that song: Is your sex life as good as Chef's?
A: Oh, my sex life is better than his.
Q: Is that scientifically possible?
A: You know what? I don't play the world like I used to. I'm happily married. This is my fourth marriage. It took all this time to get me where I am now, but I'm happy with my new wife.
Q: How did you go from the tough guy with the gold chains on "Hot Buttered Soul" to playing a fat, bearded cartoon cook who has threesomes with white women?
A: Well, I had been on my agent's back a long time: "Man, get me some voice-overs! Get me some voice-overs!" So one day he called me and said, "Mr. Hayes, I think I've got some voice-over work for you." I said, "Yeah, some Disney!" He goes, "No, no, not quite. This is different."