Before Ludacris wages war on the charts with his next solo album Ludaversal, he’s going to battle with his female counterpart Shawnna.

The Disturbing Tha Peace labelmates are more than halfway done with their joint album, Battle of the Sexes. “We’re about 70 percent done. We’re just finishing up the last couple records,” Luda tells staging-rapup.kinsta.cloud. The set features production from Bangladesh, Swizz Beatz, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League.

The rapper-turned-actor is branching out and exploring new territory with the unprecedented project. “I’m just trying to make sure that I inject hip-hop in certain things that I feel haven’t been done and give people a fresh face and something new.”

Despite previous efforts, no male and female rappers have recorded an entire album together. “I know that Jay-Z and Foxy [Brown] might have talked about doing it before and maybe Nas and somebody else,” he explains. “But there’s never really been an album with a male rapper and a female rapper together going head-to-head on different issues, mostly relationship issues and just rapping different ways.”

The partners in rhyme had no shortage of topics to talk about on the record. “That’s one of those unlimited issues that people can talk about for days, so we’re just trying to make sure we have as much subject matter as possible and good content and good quality music.”

A first single has yet to be selected, but there are a couple contenders. “We’re always trying to top ourselves. I’m a perfectionist. I’m a Virgo.”

Ludacris and Shawnna’s Battle of the Sexes is scheduled for a November/December release.