Rap legend Q-Tip hasn’t released an official solo album since 2009 — although he has been keeping himself busy — but it looks like the long-awaited Last Zulu is almost here. In a new interview with Billboard, he says that the album is almost done and mentions a few exciting collaborators:

Yeah man, I’m putting the finishing touches on it now. I’m really excited about it. Marsha Ambrosius and I have been writing, we have Beck, and talking to Fiona Apple, and some other singers — they’re all going to be singing the choruses. You know how on the old records back in the day, if you’re listening to “Young Americans,” you know Bowie had Luther Vandross and he had Nona Hendryx singing background on a couple records. They won’t be featured, but you’ll be able to listen to the songs and pick out their tones, which is important for me.

Back in 2013, Q-Tip and Rick Rubin were reported to be producing Kanye’s Yeezus follow-up, and this is what he has to say on the subject of working with Kanye:

Yeah, Rick and I were gonna do the record, and Kanye went through different phases musically, so we’ve yet to reconnect on his project. We’ve met a few times and he’s kept me up to speed here and there on what’s happening. He’s done the same with my record. We’ve been talking about some ideas for my record as well. We’re still in step. It’s not like [Kanye] scrapped any of it, that’s a rumor.

Q-Tip is “hoping” that Last Zulu will be out “by the end of this year.” In the full interview, which you can read here, he also extolls the virtues of taking a break from Twitter and discusses the recent tragedy in Charleston and the debates over the confederate flag.