Superstar rapper André 3000 has long been open in talking about his stage fright issues and how it has affected his tour life as an artist and member of the multi-platinum group Outkast.
While making the rounds to promote his brand new instrumental album, New Blue Sun, 3 Stacks spoke with GQ. He recalled when Prince surprised him with a phone call and pep talk after what he believed to be a subpar performance during the Grammy Award-winning duo’s reunion set at Coachella in 2014.
“I ain’t been on stage in damn near 15, 20 years! So it was odd for me,” André recalls. “And right before the show, you see Paul McCartney walk and go to the left side of the stage. And then, Prince walks to the right side of the stage. I’m like, ‘Ahhh! What the f—, man?!’
“You know, there’s new technology like earbuds and s—. I’d never used earbuds in my life! We were always just in front of the monitors or listening to the speakers, so if you were watching the Coachella show, I got people in my ear talking and s—. It’s like, ‘What the hell is going on?!’ Halfway through the show, I was already checked out […], so I was just trying to get through it. Yeah, the show happened, and it was a bomb night. It was horrible — in my eyes.”
André says he felt down about the show but soon got a very unexpected call and pep talk from Prince that helped cheer him up.
“The very next morning, I get a call from Prince,” Dré says. “I don’t know him like that; I don’t know how he got my number — I do not know. And the first thing he says is, ‘You know what your problem is? You don’t realize how big y’all are.’ Then he was like, ‘You gotta remind people who you are.’ And from that point on, I was like, ‘Okay.'”
Though André isn’t quite back to touring and rapping alongside Big Boi, he is back to stretching his artistic wings and creating new music…even if there are no lyrics or bars. His new instrumental flute-heavy solo album, New Blue Sun, is on all major digital streaming platforms.
