ATLiens, rejoice: It sounds like André 3000, the visionary rapper, singer, and producer best known as one-half of OutKast, is preparing to release his first-ever solo album.
On a recent episode of SiriusXM‘s Sway’s Universe, Killer Mike, André’s fellow Atlanta native and a longtime OutKast collaborator, confirmed to the show’s host that an André 3000 album was imminent. During a conversation about Mike’s connection to OutKast, host Sway Calloway brought up the rumor he had heard that 3K was preparing to release a new project.
“Yeah,” the Run The Jewels rapper confirmed casually. “I think we fly out in a couple weeks to go listen to it.” Watch the clip below or check out Killer Mike’s full appearance on Sway’s Universe here.
Killer Mike Confirms New André 3000 Album On The Way
Killer Mike says André 3000 is working on a new album
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While his OutKast partner Big Boi has continued touring and recording as a solo act since the duo largely went on ice 15 years ago, André 3000, real name André Lauren Benjamin, has largely shied away from creating new music of his own. He has in recent years, however, made a habit of showing up with show-stealing verses on tracks by a slew of notable artists including Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, A Tribe Called Quest, Kid Cudi, and N.E.R.D.
Related: OutKast’s André 3000 Releases New Merch To Benefit Movement For Black Lives
While the news from Killer Mike sounds promising, this is not the first time a rumor of this nature has surfaced. It was widely reported in mid-2013 that Benjamin was working on a solo album with producer Mike Will Made It, but a representative for the artist quickly denied the reports. In 2018, André 3K made hopeful headlines once again when he released a pair of songs on Mother’s Day, “Me&My (To Bury Your Parents)” and “Look Ma No Hands”, but those remain his only official solo tracks five years later.
“I haven’t been making much music, man,” the famously introspective Benjamin told Rick Rubin during a 2019 episode of the Broken Record podcast. “My focus is not there. My confidence is not there. I tinker a lot. I’ll just go to a piano and I’ll set my iPhone down and just record what I’m doing, moving my fingers and whatever happens, but I haven’t been motivated to do a serious project.”
Related: OutKast Shares Long-Lost Zack De La Rocha “B.O.B” Remix From ‘Stankonia’ Reissue [Listen]
He added that the widespread acclaim for his work with OutKast has actually deterred him from trying to make music again. “In my own self, I’m trying to figure out where do I sit, you know?” Three Stacks explained. “I don’t even know what I am and maybe I’m nothing. Maybe I’m not supposed to be anything. Maybe my history is kinda handicapping, in a way. And so I’m just trying to find out what makes me feel the best right now, and what makes me feel the best is when I just do these kind of random instrumental kind of things. They make me feel the most rebellious. I have a really rebellious spirit, I don’t like to go with the flow, really. I don’t know why, but I just feel best when I don’t, and I have to honor that, in a way. … The problem with being an artist, a successful artist, is you have to find a comfortable place to do that again—a comfortable place to feel uncomfortable, is what I’m saying.” Listen to the segment below.
Take all of this however you want. When you’re hoping for something that’s never happened before, it’s usually best to temper your expectations. Still… if Killer Mike and Sway are tossing around off-hand confirmations, it may be time to allow yourself to get excited for an André 3000 album in the near future.
André 3000 Tells Rick Rubin Why He’s Not Making Music – Broken Record (2019)
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