In case you ever wondered how “Hello” by Erykah Badu, from her recent mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone, came together, OutKast’s André 3000 reveals how the idea came to life. In a recent interview with Billboard, the “American Crime” actor says, “Our son Seven and I were trying to figure out songs that could help her — songs that were related to the subject of the mixtape: phones.”
He continued, “We came across [The Isley Brothers’ 1974 cover of Todd Rundgren’s] ‘Hello, It’s Me.’ Ron Isley repeats the phrase ‘hello, hello’ as if he was answering the phone. I told Erykah, ‘You should make this into a new song and get somebody to rap on it.’ She was like, ‘Well, you should rap on it!’ I’m happy it happened. It was a great reunion, because I don’t think people have heard a song from us in ages.”
Unfortunately for fans, Dre’s recent collab doesn’t mean he’ll be dropping a solo project anytime soon. When asked what he’s currently working on, he said, “I can’t say that I have a target right now. I’ve gotten in trouble before for saying when or what is coming, so I like to just kind of let it be. I’d like to put out some kind of music project, but we’ll see.”
In the meantime, the 40-year-old is set to star in “American Crime,” the ABC drama whose first season was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes. The Be Cool actor plays the role of a married architect. Something a little different for the megastar who’s nabbed roles in films like Four Brothers, Idlewild, Semi-Pro and most recently, Jimi: All Is by My Side, where André transforms into rock legend Jimi Hendrix. Needless to say, the man is hard at work. We can’t wait to see what’s next!
