Outkast are stronger than ever,” said Big Boi to MTV News recently, addressing lightheartedly the rumors some time ago that the group would break up.

We got a few songs we already picked out,” said Big Boi of their upcoming project. “We pick the beats first. I drop my [solo album] in July, Dre puts his out [later this year], and we drop that Outkast record at the top of [next] year.”

The first single off of the album, which is titled Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, is called Royal Flush, featuring Andre 3000 and Raekwon. The song, named after Big Boi’s production group, has been making its rounds on the Internet.

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I said I wanted to bring that hip-hop back,” said Big Boi. “My album is
about lyricism and about the craft. I saw Raekwon and he jumped on it.
Actually, me and Raekwon recorded three songs. We were gonna finish it
with just me and him. When Dre came back from Japan, he heard it and
said, ‘I wanna be on that.’ I gave him the beat. He came back in a
couple of months and was like, ‘Let’s do it.’

Big Boi also spoke on other collaborations for the album. “Thirteen cuts. Everything is brand new. I got a duet
with Mary J. Blige that will probably be the second single, called ‘The
World Is Too Big.’ It’s definitely monumental. I needed somebody that
could sing with that emotion and power. Like an old-school soul singer.
That Motown throat! I always wanted to work with her.

According to Big Boi, “The World is Too Big” addresses the election, poverty, crime and the war. He  also noted that he co-produced every song on the album; other production will come from Organized Noize, Mr. DJ and Royal Flush. Probable guests on the album will be Khujo Goodie and T.I.

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And the album title? “Sir Luscious Left Foot” is one of Big Boi’s many aliases, and “Dusty Chico” is the nickname his father gained as a fighter pilot.