'Every time I do interviews, they ask me about the same things — poverty, war and the power of the church," says 45-year-old Ian Brown by telephone from Manchester.
Tired of being quoted out of context, for his latest solo album, "The World is Yours," which came out at the end of last year, Brown decided to talk politics on record, taking on the Vatican, U.S. presidents and the Israeli Air Force.
Musically, the former Stone Roses singer was inspired by his favorite New York rap records of the last 20 years (he mentions Biggie Smalls and Wu-Tang Clan), so he roped in New York-based hip-hop producer Emile Haynie, who's previously worked with Mobb Deep.