Olympians’ Say They Jam To Shyne, Gucci Mane & dead prez

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps made headlines when he revealed that Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy are just a few of the artists he listens to to prepare for swim matches. And it looks like the athletes taking part in the 2010 Winter Olympics also listen to Hip Hop to stay motivated.

RollingStone.com recently asked a handful of winter athletes including snowboarders Gretchen Bleiler, Elena Hight, and Louie Vito what songs are included in their playlists and their choices might be a little surprising.

Vito, who will be competing in the Olympic halfpipe, had the most Hip Hop heavy playlist with songs like “Justify My Thug” by Jay-Z, “Bingo” by Gucci Mane, and “Diamonds and Mac 10s” by Shyne. Vito’s list also included songs from Eminem, Dr. Dre, Da Underdawgz, Lil Scrappy, and more.

“Most tracks produced by Lil Jon go hard and get you ready to go, and add Lil Scrappy on there and I am definitely going to back that,” said Vito of “Oh Yeah,” his Lil Scrappy pick.

Among Gretchen Bleiler’s picks were dead prez’s “It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “Da Booty,” and RUN-DMC’s “It’s Like That.”

And Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ “Empire State Of Mind” and T.I. and Rihanna’s “Live Your Life” were just a few of the songs featured on Elena Hight’s playlist.