Lupe Fiasco shows his stars and stripes on the black-and-white cover of “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free),” the first single off his album Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album. The song drops May 22, while the long-awaited sequel to his 2006 album is due later this year.

“With this record, I just wanted to go back to the essence of what made that record so special,” the Chicago rhymer told Fuse. “The musicality that was on Food & Liquor that the original hardcore Lupe fans appreciated, we put it on this record, but to the tenth power.”

Are you excited to hear Lupe’s new single? Let us know.

Lupe Fiasco is serving up the highly-anticipated sequel to his 2006 album. The Chicago rapper revealed new details about his double CD Food & Liquor 2 during an interview with Fuse at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee.

“With this record, I just wanted to go back to the essence of what made that record so special,” said Lupe, who plans to drop the first single on May 22. “The musicality that was on Food & Liquor that the original hardcore Lupe fans appreciated, we put it on this record, but to the tenth power.”

One of his favorite cuts on the album is called “Form Follows Function.” “It’s a monster,” he said. “Rappers ain’t fu**in’ with that. That’s how good it is.”

He made Food & Liquor 2 without pressure from fans or the label. “It’s the Lupe Fiasco that I want to be without the industry constraints, without trying to please the hardcore fans or the new fans,” he explained. “It’s just me, what I would do for myself, if nobody every heard it. This is the kind of music that I would make. It’s a masterpiece. It’s real good. It’s real fu**ing good.”

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Some of the biggest hip-hop and R&B stars in the U.S. traveled Down Under for Supafest 2012, Australia’s largest urban music festival.

A tatted Chris Brown thrilled with his chart-topping hits, Kelly Rowland added some sizzle to the stage, Lupe Fiasco raged in a Bulls jersey, and Big Sean and Trey Songz catered to the ladies during the second day in Sydney.

Diddy and Rick Ross pulled out at the last minute, citing issues with promoters, but hip-hop vets Ice Cube, Ludacris, and Naughty by Nature filled the void.

The four-date festival will also play Melbourne and Perth, and is expected to draw over 100,000 attendees.

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Eric Turner lent his voice to Lupe Fiasco’s “Break the Chain” and Tinie Tempah’s “Written in the Stars.” But it was his turn in the spotlight on Tuesday’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” The singer-songwriter was joined by the rappers while performing his single “Angels & Stars” off his Capitol Records debut. Watch the trio shoot for the stars.

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Lupe Fiasco leaves heads spinning in the hypnotizing video for “Vava Voom,” his trippy collaboration with Bassnectar, the first single off the DJ-producer’s album of the same name, due April 10. The rap rebel sports a “Destroy” beanie as he performs alongside mirrored images of himself.

“‘Vava Voom’ is where life shifts into time-warp speed, but you find yourself in an almost slow-motion trance,” Bassnectar told Rolling Stone.

Expect new solo music from Lupe soon. Just this week, he played his upcoming album Food & Liquor 2: Great American Rap Album (Part 1) for his label at a listening session.

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Game rolls past the bullshit on the Lupe Fiasco-assisted “Skate On,” a leftover from his R.E.D. Album recording sessions. The Infamous-produced track will appear on the Compton rapper’s DJ Skee-hosted mixtape California Republic, which drops tomorrow.

“Lupe skates and I thought it would be cool to kind of take that and make it reverse psychology,” Game told Rap-Up TV. “You know when some bullshit’s about to jump off and somebody’s like, ‘Yo, I think we better skate?’ It’s kinda like that. … Lupe kicks this 20-bar verse that’s like crazy.”

Game is gearing up for the release of his fifth album FIVE: Fear Is Victory’s Evolution, due later this year.

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Hip-hop meets dubstep on “Vava Voom,” Lupe Fiasco’s super-charged collaboration with Bassnectar, the first single off the DJ-producer’s album of the same name, due April 10.

“[Lupe] was doing this crazy double-meaning story over the track, talking about hypnosis while waving his arms in the air as if casting a spell,” Bassnectar told Rolling Stone. “‘Vava Voom’ is where life shifts into time-warp speed, but you find yourself in an almost slow-motion trance.”

Listen to their worlds collide below.

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Lupe Fiasco helped turn the Ed Sullivan Theater into a jazz lounge for his performance with the Robert Glasper Experiment on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” Lupe dropped rhymes, Bilal provided the harmonies, and Glasper played the keys while showcasing their talents on “Always Shine,” a cut off the jazz pianist’s album Black Radio.

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