Andre 3000 Explains Why He Didn’t Make a Hip-Hop Album

The press-shy Andre 3000 is stepping out of his comfort zone. After talking to NPR about his forthcoming debut solo album, New Blue Sun, Thursday (Nov. 16), Three Stacks continues his media run by sitting with GQ for its first-ever video cover story, where the Outkast lyricist explained his decision not to rap on his latest offering. 

“I’ve worked with some of the newest, freshest, youngest and old-school producers. I get beats all the time. I try to write all the time.” But rap is not what comes, he stated. “Even now people think, ‘Oh, man, he’s just sitting on raps, or he’s just holding these raps hostage.’ I ain’t got no raps like that. It actually feels … sometimes it feels inauthentic for me to rap because I don’t have anything to talk about in that way.”

He continued: “I’m 48 years old. And not to say that age is a thing that dictates what you rap about, but in a way it does. And things that happen in my life, like, what are you talking about? ‘I got to go get a colonoscopy.’ What are you rapping about? ‘My eyesight is going bad.’ You can find cool ways to say it.”

Andre also chimed in on his alleged sour relationship with his former partner in rhyme, Big Boi. This year marks two significant anniversaries for the Outkast artists, as 1998’s Aquenimi turned 25 and their Grammy Award-winning album, 2003’s Speakerboxx / The Love Below reached 20, though they haven’t publicly addressed their milestones together during the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The two embarked on a reunion tour in 2014, which included a headlining Coachella performance. According to 3000, he wasn’t his best self and revealed how a conversation with Prince helped change the tide for the rest of the tour.

“‘You know what your problem is?’ Prince asked. And I’m like, ‘F–k.’ He said, ‘You don’t realize how big y’all are.’ And then he was like, ‘You got to remind people who you are,’” André shared before diving into his bond with Big Boi. “There’s a certain chemistry that me and Big Boi had and have,” he said. “I think over time, people don’t understand that chemistry changes.”