Luda recently told Billboard.com that his eighth studio album, Ludaversal, is ready for a May release, although the exact date isn’t pinpointed just yet.

And when the album drops, Luda says fans can definitely expect to hear him with a fan-favorite collaborator: Usher. The two teamed up on hits like “Yeah” and “Lovers and Friends” and will be back at it on Luda’s new joint.

"Usher is one person that I've already worked with and in terms of other artists, you can say that there's going to be a lot of surprises on here," Luda told Billboard.

The news comes after the Atlanta MC whet fans’ appetites with his mixtape, 1.21 Gigawatts: Back To The First Time, last November. The mixtape made noise, largely in part to the track “Bada Boom,” on which he lashed out at Drake and Big Sean over allegations that he stole the “hashtag” or “pause, stop” rap flow from them.

“I’m the truth in this booth and you niggas all hoes,” Luda raps on “Bada Boom.” “Counterfeit rappers say I’m stealing their flows, but I can’t steal what you never made up, biiitch/ Y’all some duplicate rap cloning niggas/I manufacture you hoes put on your make-up, biiitch…”

Later Cris continues: “May not like the way I used it, but you know you ain’t invent it, boy/Do your research before you make a claim so bogus that’s disrespecting pioneers in the game.”

Ludacris recently announced he plans on opening up a new restaurant, Chicken & Beer, in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International airport. —Jakinder Singh

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