Will kickin’ rhymes and street cred translate into car sales?

Toyota Motor Corp. hopes so.

The automaker is collaborating with old-school hip-hop stars to help it connect with the youth market that drives sales of the company’s Scion models.

Grand Master Flash, Slick Rick and “Big Daddy” Kane are among the veterans Toyota featured in a series of concerts designed to solidify the Scion’s standing as an urban, youth-oriented line.

Scion believes that hip-hop particularly so-called “old school” artists draws a young, diverse and creative counter-culture element of their target demographic that other genres can’t.

“We tried to do a couple of things in rock and it didn’t really work out,” said Jeri Yoshizu, sales promotions manager for the Scion line. “It was a much older crowd and not really diverse. I mean it was old.”

The performers have been featured in Toyota’s free monthly concert series, “The Metros,” which play in selected markets including Los Angeles, San Diego, St. Louis, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta and New York.

Besides connecting with a crowd that’s younger, the classic hip-hoppers are a bargain for Toyota, compared to the cost of hiring an act on today’s charts.

“We didn’t have to spend a ton of money to do this,” Yoshizu said. “(The events) are well under $20,000 each. That’s why we can do so many.”

Toyota has also tapped Biz Markie, A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA, Tony Touch, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Jazzy Jeff, DJ Aladdin, and underground favorite Mark the 45 King.

Even so, the out-of-the-mainstream artists fit with the keep-it-real attitude Toyota aims to convey to potential Scion buyers.

“A lot of corporations get sucked into red carpet, glitz-it-up celebrity events,” Yoshizu said. “We don’t want celebrities there. If they do come, it will be because they are a fan, not because they get paid.”

Toyota has also started a documentary film series, a fashion line and art installations as part of the campaign.