Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire signed his major label deal with Universal Republic at SXSW 2012, where the Brooklyn rapper was a major presence, playing more than a dozen shows. It’s 2013 now, though, and eXquire’s major label deal has yet to see the light of day. If you’ve been waiting patiently for the past year to hear it, hopefully you’ve got some patience left -- eXquire tells Hive that the new album is not imminent.

“I did one song,” he said at SXSW 2013 after admitting he’s not at work on the album at the moment. “I did the intro to the album. I did it with Lifted, who did “Mercy” for Kanye West. That’s the only song I’ve got.” eXquire explained that he’s “not ready” to begin work on his major label debut at the moment, saying only that he “might” do more songs soon, but that he’s not sure yet.

Don’t take that to mean that he’s resting on his laurels, though. The prolific mixtape emcee is back on that beat later this month, as he prepares his latest mixtape, Kismet. “The mixtape is fucking amazing,” he says. “It’s really the evolution of me. I went from doing records in my living room, then I went to a big studio where everybody’s staring at you and you’re expected to rap and be successful. This just shows my progression. I just want to take my time with things. I’m truly talented, so I don’t need to rush.”

The mixtape features production from eXquire’s producer Constrobuz (“He’s basically my DJ Premier to my Guru”) and his DJ, Sixth Sense. It also features a posse cut with eXquire, Danny Brown, Flatbush Zombies, and Nacho Picasso called “Tomorrow’s Gone.”

Kismet is only a few weeks away, and that should tide over eXquire fans who’ve been eagerly anticipating the full-blown major label album from the singularly focused artist. Whenever it does appear, though, don’t expect it to be on the same tip as his contemporaries. eXquire explains that he “doesn’t really listen to rap music” these days. “I listen to a lot of old '70s and '60 ssoul music. Isaac Hayes, Barry White, Willie Hutch, Donnie Hathaway, stuff like that. I just like the storytelling. I like the honesty, I like the purity. Despite the fact they were singing and we rap, the same stories are being sung.”