After a tumultuous year of personal strife and creative frenzy, Definitive Jux recording artist Cage is preparing the release of his long awaited follow up to 2005's heralded Hell's Winter.

The new album is titled Depart From Me, which has been two years in the making for the New York rapper. It promises to be a harrowing journey through dense lyricism, coupled with sparse resonate production by F. Sean (Martin), El-P, Aesop Rock, and Camu Tao (R.I.P.).

In addition to the 14-track effort, Cage has prepared a seven-song mega-single/EP of exclusive bonus material, entitled the I Never Knew You EP, slated for release sometime within next two months, and will be available for free download from the people over at Adult Swim (Cartoon Network) in conjunction with Definitive Jux.

Set to coincide with the release of the free digital EP, Cage will spend February filming the video for "I Never Knew You" in LA with close personal friend Shia Labeouf (making his directorial debut). It will be the first official collaboration between Cage and Labeouf, which will ultimately culminate in a full-length feature film, based on the rapper's young life starring Labeouf himself.

In the meantime, Cage has been doing a series of small (almost) secret shows where he has been premiering some of the new album material. He will continue to do so until his first official performance of the year, at Biz 3 showcase at SXSW.

For updates and sneak peeks, fans can check out Cage's MySpace profile at MySpace.com/CageKennylz.

A free download of "Nothing Left To Say" from the upcoming Depart From Me album is available at DefinitiveJux.net. The album hits stores June 30.