Zane Lowe is a tit and Colin Murray an illiterate Belfast wideboy. Neither are barometers of how good this news is.
Have to disagree with you there; Evil Empire is a superb effort. Ok it doesn't measure up to the eponymous debut but there are some stomping 'choons' on there. The third album (Battle of Los Angeles) is pretty much the same as all the rest-angry, biting, left wing polemic. If you're into that sort of thing then it's right up your street. The fourth album, Renegades was just a bunch of covers of varying degrees of quality. The standout is a live track of How I Could Just Kill A Man featuring said song's originators Cypress Hill.
De La Rocha was supposed to be releasing a solo album as you say. The last I heard he was playing a lot of ping-pong with DJ Shadow.