Outkast’s Big Boi has confirmed that he has recorded a duet with Mary J Blige for his upcoming solo album.

The as-yet-untitled record hits the shelves in July and also features three collaborations with Raekwon.

Big Boi tells MTV: "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."

About drafting Raekwon in, he said: 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.' "

Despite his solo adventures, Boi maintained that Outkast were going as strong as ever and hoped to drop their new album in early 2009. Andre 3000 is also working on a new solo record which should be with us before the year is out.

(by Scott Colothan)