Lupe Fiasco faded to black on the cover of his recent album Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Part 1, choosing a blacked out image for the artwork. During an interview with FUSE‘s Ashanti, Lu explained that Johnny Cash inspired his decision to go minimal on the cover for hist latest work.

“One of the main reasons why it’s all black was there’s a song called ‘Man in Black’ by the late, great Johnny Cash. People always ask me, because I wear black on stage and I stay in black, ‘Why do you stay in black? Why is the album cover all black?’ And I say, just listen to Johnny Cash’s ‘The Man in Black.’ The reason he wore black was because he wore it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime. There’s meaning behind it.”

Watch the interview below.

RELATED: Kendrick Lamar Brings Out Lupe Fiasco In Chicago, Illinois