Gang Starr affiliate Afu Ru is preparing his third album, State of the Arts.

Afu said that his latest release is more diverse and more reflective of his musical tastes.

"With this album I took a firmer direction musically in the way I wanted this album to go" Afu-Ra told AllHipHop.com. "This album is Hip-Hop influenced with a lot of diverse beats as far s rock and reggae. With this album I feel closer to who I am as a person through music than I did with my previous albums."

State of the Arts is the first record of Afu Ra to be put out on his label Life Force Records which is distributed through Decon.

"I feel great about my partnership with Decon because now as opposed to being an artist, I am a partner," Afu said. "I own my own masters and I don't have to worry about recouping out of my royalties and stuff to pay the label back. In the end it just all works out better for me."

State of the Arts features collaborations with artists like Royce Da 5'9, Masta Killa, Kardinal Offishall and Gentlemen.

Afu also reunites with DJ Premier on the track "Sucka Free" to show that the Gang Starr crew is still in effect.

A side from working on his third album and starting a label, Afu-Ra is also currently working on an upcoming Perverted Monks project.

"We are definitely working on a follow up to our debut [Afu-Ra Presents Perverted Monks] from last year," Afu said. "This album is going to show case our sound, which is perverted without being raunchy. We are like an intellectual version of the 2 Live Crew."

Afu-Ra is also set to embark on a tour of the United States with Inspektah Deck and Planet Asia.

State of the Arts is slated to drop on June 14th.

Listed below are tour dates, for more information log on to www.afu-ra.com.


Inspectah Deck, Afu-Ra, and Planet Asia Tour

May 30 - Brooklyn, NY North Six
May 31 - Buffalo, NY The Icon
June 1 - Cleveland, OH Peabodys
June 2 - Kingston, ON Elxir
June 3 - Ottawa, ON Babylon
June 4 - Toronto, ON System Soundbar
June 5 - Montreal, QC Foufones
June 6 - Lancaster, PA
June 7 - Philadelphia, PA (date TBC)
June 8 - Charlotte, NC The Milestone
June 9 - Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
June 10 - Wilmington, NC The Soapbox
June 11 - Fairfield, VA Jaxx
June 12 - Baltimore, MD Ottobar
June 13 – Drive – Off day
June 14 – Orlando, Fl The Social
June 15 – Tallahassee, FL Beta Bar
June 16 – Memphis, TN The Complex
June 17 – Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
June 18 – Denton, TX Rubber Gloves (Dallas Suburb)

June 20 – Phoenix, AZ (Venue TBC – Polo’s show)
June 21 – San Diego, CA (Venue TBC – Polo’s show)
June 22 – Los Angeles, CA (Venue TBC – Polo’s show)
June 23 – San Jose, CA Zoe Nightclub
June 24 – San Fran, CA Mighty
June 25/26 – looking Portland.Eugene
June 27or 28 – Seattle, WA Larry’s Nightclub or Chop Suey
June 29 – Vancouver, BC – Richards on Richards
June 30 – Victoria, BC Sugar Nightclub
July 1st – Whistler, BC - TBA
July 2nd – Calgary - TBA
July 3rd – Edmonton - TBA