Outkast rapper Big Boi has confessed to leaking his own tracks online to generate interest in his long-awaited solo album - after facing setbacks with bosses at Jive Records.
The star completed work on Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty months ago, but blames issues with Jive executives for holding the project back.
The disc is not expected to hit stores until the summer (09) - but Big Boi is refusing to rely on Jive to market the CD and admits he's responsible for giving fans an early preview of songs such as Royal Flush and Ringtone by releasing them online.
He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "I've been doing it myself. It's like I'm indie (an independent artist) right now, but they won't let us out the contract... They (Jive bosses) don't want to spend the money, but the music's gonna make its own way."
Big Boi's Sir Lucious Leftfoot CD will be his first release without his Outkast partner Andre 3000. The duo's last release, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, was a double album which featured one disc by Big Boi and the other by Andre 3000.