Ludacris is one of the fortunate rappers to find a successful place for himself outside of hip-hop—while never forgetting where he came from. These days, the rapper-turned-actor has been marking off the hosting box on his career checklist, and aside from MTV’s resurgence of Fear Factor, the Atlanta native has signed on as the host of Best.Cover.Ever., a new YouTube music competition show executive produced by Ryan Seacrest. Luda also serves as the producer.

Best.Cover.Ever. features aspiring artists from across the globe vying for a chance to perform alongside one of America’s biggest pop stars. After the Best.Cover.Ever. team filters through thousands of song covers, it’s up to the pop star who originally recorded the track to pick two finalists, who will then compete on the series to win the grand prize. For example, contestants cover Flo Rida's "My House" and the rapper chooses which finalists go on to the next round.

Luda and Seacrest joined forces to create a lucrative opportunity for rising artists all over the world as they utilize one of the internet’s largest platforms. “When you get to a certain place in the industry, you want to create avenues and opportunities for other artists the same way that I had,” Ludacris tells XXL.

The versatility of the artists is what interests Luda the most, as he's watched the musicians take on tracks like Jason Derulo's "Trumpets" and make it their own by altering the arrangement and melody. "You could have a rap song and somebody change it into a country song, and an EDM song and somebody change it into an R&B song," he explains.

Other artists on the show whose songs will be covered include Demi Lovato, Backstreet Boys, Keith Urban and Katy Perry. If Luda had things his way, he'd opt for contestants to cover his raunchy and explicit 2000 hit "What's Your Fantasy." "[I’d] love for a girl to cover it, ’cause it’s a bunch of nasty things being said," Luda adds with a laugh. He'd also like a singer to perform their own rendition of Erykah Badu's soulful cut "On & On."

Best.Cover.Ever. premieres today at 1 p.m./ 4 p.m. ET on the Best.Cover.Ever. YouTube channel. Before it airs, watch an exclusive clip from the show, starring Jason Derulo, below.