Everlast's forthcoming record, "Love, War, and the Ghost of Whitey Ford," is due Sept. 23 through an innovative deal between his management company and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, according to a press release. The agreement gives him a newfound artistic freedom in the creation and distribution of his music.

"I get to do what I want, how I want," Everlast said in a statement. "Now I have the chance to promote the albums the way I see fit. I'm much more adaptable as an individual than a label would be. I don't want to follow the same old cookie-cutter ways of getting people's attention."

He added that he plans to reach his longtime fans and make new ones through extensive touring.

"I just want to go out and play to as many people as I can," Everlast explained. "That's what this album's for. I don't care if it sells a million records, but if I can get a million people to come out and see me live, that's even better."

The Irish-American hip-hop/folk-rock artist said he's also taken a different approach to the music on his new album, using a greater variety of instruments and denser arrangements.

"There are different textures and it rocks a lot harder," he explained, adding, "I know I made a better album than I imagined I could have made ... and I'm a hard person to please."

The set's first two singles, "Letter Home From the Garden of Stone" and a cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues," are streaming at Everlast's MySpace page.

The performer, a founding member of '90s rap group House of Pain, was recently nominated for an Emmy award for penning the theme song to the TNT drama "Saving Grace" starring Holly Hunter. He is now scoring the show on a weekly basis.