Pitchfork

White Crunk! How about that for an unexpected new genre? And no, it's not a bunch of Southern boys ridin' around in their pick-up trucks blastin' Skynyrd remixes and beating down mailboxes. It's how Kanye West refers to Franz Ferdinand's dance rock, which the rapper says has influenced his new album, Late Registration.

Kanye and the band met a while back at the MTV Europe Awards. At the time, head Franzie Alex Kapranos said, "We've been talking a lot about production and we really feel the most cutting-edge stuff is being done in the world of hip-hop right now. Kanye West's a good example. I think that's maybe where we'll look for inspiration on the next record."

And the lovefest goes both ways, as West feels that a Franz Ferdinand vibe has affected his new work. "I just told them I really liked how grimy their drums were, that was really important to me," West recently told NME while in Prague on the set of his video for "Diamonds From Sierra Leone". "I wanted to know how they got their sound. I was asking them all types of questions. I told them they were my favorite band, there's a bit of their feel in my new album."

As for West's new single, the aforementioned "Diamonds", he believes this song best showcases the Franz Ferdinfluence. "'Diamonds' is kind of White Crunk."

Then West proceeded to reveal a little bit about what Late Registration will sound like. "I've just tried to push the envelope. Hopefully people will hear it and feel it. This record is edgier, that would be the best way to describe the difference between this and The College Dropout. The album is very dark. I still have a sense of humor but I guess it's a dark humor. It's more Bill Murray than Bill Cosby."

Further details on West's new album are being kept under wraps, but guests include Common, John Mayer, and perhaps M.I.A., for whom West added, "I'm still waiting for her to lay down her verse, but she's got the beat though!"

Franz Ferdinand's as-yet-untitled sophomore LP is currently slated for a late September release, while Late Registration comes out Stateside on August 16-- just in time for school to start.