Paul Wall is all set to drop his fourth major label album, Heart of a Champion, next week ... and will celebrate its release in Houston before heading out for his fourth USO tour through the Middle East.

Paul will be traveling to undisclosed countries, performing for our troops from August 2nd through August 9th. His previous tours with the USO have taken him to places like Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

For this trek, he will be joined on the tour with DJ E-Man of L.A.'s Power 106 station and that station's morning show host, Big Boy.

As for his upcoming Heart of a Champion album, almost half of the tracks are produced by Paul's long-time friend and Expensive Taste band-mate, Travis Barker. It will also feature several songs from Expensive Taste, the group which includes Skinhead Rob (Transplants) in addition to Paul and Travis.

Houston-based production duo, Beanz N Kornbread, are credited with the majority of remaining tracks, including lead single "I'm on Patron," a lyrical documentary of a feeling that most of us have experienced -- and greatly regretted the next day -- that of simply having too much fun of the liquid variety.

Feature duties for Heart of a Champ include a diverse list of cast members including Jim Jones, Yelawolf and Raekwon, but do not ignore Paul's Houston roots; Bun B, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Devin the Dude and Lil' Keke each get their turn at the mic.

Another Houston feature is Johnny Dang aka TV Johnny with whom Paul Wall shares a grills and jewelry business, which caters to A-list celebrities and average Joes alike. In fact, the two are doing so well that they opened a second store in the Galleria, right next door to Neiman Marcus.

Since breaking out with The People's Champ in 2005, Paul Wall has enjoyed two no. 1 chart toppers, a platinum plaque and a Grammy nomination. His journey began humbly enough as a promoter for hometown indie label SwishaHouse, and culminated with him being largely instrumental in the growth of the Houston rap movement and its rise into the national arena.

Since then, he's dropped a total of seven and he continues with no sign of slowing down. 10 years in and Paul Wall remains in the game and in the hearts of the people. Without question, he truly has The Heart of a Champion.

The album drops July 13.